The Korean youngster beats Amir Ibraimov in the final as Spain’s Marcos Morales completes a remarkable journey to the podium
The 17th World Championship 3-Cushion Juniors came to an exciting conclusion on Sunday in Gradignan, with Yun Do Song ?? taking the world title after defeating Germany’s Amir Ibraimov ?? in the final.
Song won 40-32 in 35 innings, finishing the decisive match with a 1.142 average and an impressive 12-point high run. Ibraimov finished on 0.914, with a best run of 6.
For Song, the title completes an excellent progression through the tournament. After finishing second in his qualifying group, he eliminated fellow Korean and opening-day leader Hyeon Woo Kim ?? in the Round of 16, before continuing his run all the way to the world title.
Song overcomes Özbas
In the first semi-final, Song faced Seymen Özbas ??, another player who had impressed throughout the championship.
The Korean eventually prevailed 40-34 in 35 innings. Özbas produced a high run of 9, but Song maintained control of the match and booked his place in the final.
It was another solid performance from Song, who had already shown his ability to handle pressure in the knockout stage.
Ibraimov ends Morales' dream run
The second semi-final brought together two of the most impressive players of the championship: Amir Ibraimov ?? and Marcos Morales ??.
Ibraimov delivered a superb performance, reaching 40 points in just 26 innings for a remarkable 1.538 average, with a best run of 7. Morales scored 32 points at 1.280 and had to settle for a bronze medal.
For Morales, however, the tournament was already a major success.
Morales makes the most of his opportunity
Morales arrived in Gradignan as a replacement player, after reigning champion Ubaldo Sanchez ?? withdrew from the event following a slight injury sustained in a road accident.
Sanchez nevertheless travelled to France to support his Mexican teammates, while Morales seized his unexpected opportunity.
The Spaniard won his qualifying group and then produced two outstanding knockout performances. He defeated Luca Philipoom 40-10 in 25 innings in the Round of 16 before beating Vietnam's Trong Van Dinh 40-26 in only 20 innings in the quarter-finals.
His journey finally ended against Ibraimov in the semi-final, but Morales leaves Gradignan as World Championship bronze medallist and one of the standout performers of the tournament.
A strong German campaign
Ibraimov's silver medal also completes a very strong championship for Germany.
The German had already finished first in his qualifying group with a 1.333 average, then defeated France's Noah David in the Round of 16 and Colombia's Duvan Martinez in the quarter-finals.
His semi-final against Morales was his strongest performance of the knockout stage, with the 1.538 average taking him into the final.
He ultimately fell short against Song, but takes home the silver medal after a highly consistent championship.
Korea takes the title
The victory gives Korea another major success at junior level, with Yun Do Song ?? emerging from a very international final four.
The final ranking shows the strength and diversity of the championship, with 16 different nations represented among the 24 competitors.
Final ranking
? 1. Yun Do Song ?? — 11 pts — 1.148
? 2. Amir Ibraimov ?? — 10 pts — 1.292
? 3. Marcos Morales ?? — 8 pts — 1.445
? 3. Seymen Özbas ?? — 8 pts — 1.160
5. Trong Van Dinh ?? — 6 pts — 1.024
6. Duvan Martinez ?? — 6 pts — 0.992
7. David Velandia ?? — 4 pts — 1.158
8. Jacob Ide ?? — 4 pts — 0.909
9. Hyeon Woo Kim ?? — 4 pts — 1.474
10. Toni Garcia ?? — 4 pts — 0.989
11. Tangui Duriez ?? — 4 pts — 0.932
12. Steven Ortiz ?? — 2 pts — 0.868
13. Burkan Yildirim ?? — 2 pts — 0.763
14. Toon Bollansee ?? — 2 pts — 0.730
15. Luca Philipoom ?? — 2 pts — 0.561
16. Noah David ?? — 1 pt — 0.886
17. Carlos Ochoa ?? — 1 pt — 0.783
18. Ataberk Cerkez ?? — 1 pt — 0.666
19. Minh Tri Nguyen ?? — 0 pts — 1.022
20. Jae Hong Park ?? — 0 pts — 0.709
21. Ryusei Miyamoto ?? — 0 pts — 0.685
22. Mio Svensson ?? — 0 pts — 0.645
23. Nicolas Cermak ?? — 0 pts — 0.457
24. Fady Girgis ?? — 0 pts — 0.278
The official final ranking records a 1.038 average for the Main Tournament and 0.949 for the whole championship.
A new name on the world stage
Gradignan has once again shown the depth of young talent in international 3-cushion billiards. Korea, Germany, Spain, Türkiye, Colombia, Vietnam, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and many other nations were represented throughout the competition.
And at the end of three days, it was Yun Do Song ?? who stood at the top of the podium — a new World Junior Champion after a memorable championship in Gradignan.