BORDEAUX - The 69th UMB World championship three-cushion, from 15 to 19 November at the Palais des Congrès in Bordeaux, not only provides a stage for 48 of the best players in the world from 24 different countries. In the French port city, famous for its wines, also called 'La Belle Endormie', the sleeping beauty, battle will take place for the most coveted and adored title in billiards in the next five days. The tournament, organized by Kozoom international, gets an unprecedented tv coverage and will also attract thousands of spectators and hundreds of people from the billiard industry to the fifth largest city in France.
Torbjörn Blomdahl defends the title he won last year in the same city. The competition is battle-ready for an attack on the position of the Swede, who is now the number one again on the global ranking. The winner will be awarded with 10.000 euros, but even more important for the players is the world title crown for one year.
UMB President Farouk Barki considers this tournament, with its huge global appeal as a highlight of the year in which billiards has made a great step forward. ,,The main goal when we started with the new UMB-board in January this year, was to bring our sport to the level that we all, but most of all the players deserve. We have achieved a lot in a short time, thanks to the media attention and the partnership with Kozoom. I am sure that the growing attention will bring more sponsors for the next few years, especially with the new contract with MBC, the biggest sports channel from South Korea.''
The world championship is not only a sporting contest - with Torbjörn Blomdahl, Frédéric Caudron, Dick Jaspers, Eddy Merckx, Dani Sánchez, Marco Zanetti and the best Asians players as the main favourites - but also a media spectacle never seen before. The UMB (world federation) will also organize a meeting where important decisions are expected. Farouk Barki: ,,We will talk about more prize money for the players in all World Cups as of January 2017.'' '
The president also expects that the executive committee, which now exists of three members after the suspension of the Korean Steve Lee, will be brought back to four members. Barki: ,,The main mission of the board for the coming years is to further expand the media attention, the prize money for the World Cup and to continue to guarantee the stability of the calendar.''
All the players for the 69th World championship in Bordeaux
Two players from the participants at the world championship this week, Michael Nilsson and Henry Diaz, had to withdraw and will be replaced by two French players: Cédric Melnytschenko and Pierre Soumagne. Blomdahl, Caudron, Jaspers, Merckx and Zanetti are the leaders in the first five groups. The Koreans and the French are represented by six players.
The tournament starts on Tuesday, November 15th at 13.00 with the official opening ceremony, followed by the first sessions. On Wednesday and Thursday the sessions start at 13.30. The knockout phase starts on Friday at 13.30 with the eighth-finals, followed by the quarterfinals at 18.30. The semi-finals are on Saturday at 13.00 and 15.00, the final is at 18.00.
UMB president Farouk Barki and tournament director Charly Brown
The new group format:
Group A:
Torbjörn Blomdahl (Sw)
Christadkis Christoforou (Cyp)
Ramon Rodriguez (Per)
Group B:
Frédéric Caudron (Bel)
Jérôme Barbeillon (Fr)
Erick Tellez (CR)
Group C:
Dick Jaspers (Neth)
Arnim Kahofer (Aus)
Antoine Gholam (Lib)
Group D:
Eddy Merckx (Bel)
Jae Guen Kim (Kor)
Raimond Burgman (Neth)
Group E:
Marco Zanetti (It)
Hyung Ki Kim (Kor)
Hugo Patino (USA)
Group F:
Dani Sánchez (Sp)
Christian Rudolph (Ger)
Pierre Soumagne (Fr)
Group G:
Sameh Sidhom (Eg)
Ma Minh Cam (Viet)
Kostas Kokkoris (Gri)
Group H:
Nikos Polychronopoulos (Gri)
Javier Palazón (Sp)
Cetin Behzat (Swi)
Group I:
Jérémy Bury (Fr)
Eddy Leppens (Bel)
Cédric Melnytschenko (Fr)
Group J:
Quyet Chien Tran (Viet)
Ihab El Messery (Eg)
Robinson Morales (Col)
Group K:
Dong Koong Kang (Kor)
Semih Saygıner (Tur)
Ryuuji Umeda (Jap)
Group L:
Jae Ho Cho (Kor)
Riad Nady (Eg)
Radek Novak (Cze)
Group M:
Roland Forthomme (Bel)
Huberney Cataño (Col)
Lars Dunch (Den)
Group N:
Tayfun Tasdemir (Tur)
Nguyen Quoc Nguyen (Viet)
Jean-Christophe Roux (Fr)
Group D:
Haeng-Jik Kim (Kor)
Pedro Piedrabuena (USA)
Marc Boigneres (Fr)
Group P:
Jung-Han Heo (Kor)
Murat Naci Coklu (Tur)
Guillermo Perez (Arg).