2025 USBA National Championship

: Written by: Charles Brown; Published: 07 April 2025; Hits: 531

Raymon Groot 2025 USBA National Champion!!!

RaymonGroot Raymon Groot wins his first USBA National Championship.

After the third day of play at the 2025 USBA three-cushion national championship at Bergan Billiards in Palisades Park, New Jersey, a small birthday celebration occurred. Happy Birthday was sung by a chorus of workers behind the front desk, and pieces of a flaky-crusted cake were passed around to the players practicing at the tables. Raymon Groot, born in Milan, Italy, raised in The Netherlands, and now playing out of the rooms in the New York area, was celebrating his 33rd birthday. The next day, he celebrated again when he bested Pedro Piedrabuena, 40 to 28, for the championship trophy.

Groot, a tall man with strawberry-blond hair and an aspiring beard, much blonder, began his march to the winner’s circle by finishing second in preliminary Group G, losing to Seung Kwon Hong, another NJ-NY player. In the knockout stage, Groot first topped John Guidali 40 to 26 with a strong 1.379 average. He then faced Hugo Patiño, the 2024 champion, in the round of 16. Highlighted by his run of 9, Groot came out on top of a defensive game, 40 to 32 in 36 innings (1.111). The quarterfinals gave Groot the chance to avenge his loss to Seung Kwon Hong. He led from the start and notched a 40-31 victory in 35 innings (1.143). In the semi-finals, the young Dutchman found himself trailing Kang Lee, the owner of Bergan Billiards, who seemed to have a home-field advantage. But the balls would not cooperate with the young Korean in the closing moments, and Groot finished strong, 40 to 38 in 31 innings (1.290). “I got a little lucky,” Groot would later explain his victory.

In the opposite bracket, Piedrabuena appeared to be on a quest to win his 13^th title. He finished first in Group E with a 1.500 grand average, though he did lose to Ricardo Carranco Jr., from Los Angeles, in the best game of the preliminaries, 25 to 13 in eight innings (3.125 to 1.625). Despite the loss, Piedrabuena received a bye in the round of 32. He then topped Hernan Patarroyo, from Florida, 40 to 28 (1.379), advancing to the quarterfinals, where he matched up against Won Sik Kang, who was playing in his first USBA championship. Kang’s Cinderella run ended quickly. Piedrabuena took a quick lead and rushed toward the finish, 40 to 13 in 15 innings (2.667). With his victory in the books, Piedrabuena sat and watched the other match on his side of the bracket. The expected re-match with Carranco did not come to fruition. Carranco could not find his stoke, and John Park, from Houston, upset the Los Angeles cueist, 40 to28 in 40 innings (1.000). Piedrabuena’s high level of play continued in the semi-finals, averaging 1.538 in a 40 to 28 win over Park.

After a short break, Groot, seeking his first title, and Piedrabuena, seeking his 13^th, lagged for the break. Groot won and scored. He tallied billiard on billiard and was ahead 20 to 10 on the scoreboard at the break. A small delay occurred as the players returned from the halftime. A scoring error had been made, and Charles Brown, the tournament director, adjusted the score, 20 to 9 in favor of Groot. Despite the loss of a billiard, Piedrabuena found his rhythm, scoring consistently and then closing the gap with a run of 8. Groot immediately answered with a run of 5. The players traded scores for several innings, and then the new champion closed with runs of 4 and 5 to finish, 40 to 28 in 23 innings (1.739). In an interview several days after the tournament, Groot was reflective. “I have nothing much to say. The tables and balls were in good condition, and that helped my game. The conditions were super important. I did not have to make many adjustments and the balls favored me.”

With the victory, Groot earned $4000. He also had the highest run in the finals, 9 against Patino, earning him another $200. Piedrabuena took home $3000 for second place and another $200 for highest average in a game (2.667). Park and Lee shared third place, with each taking home $2000.

The quality of play in the nationals was high. Many railbirds commented that the tournament field of 56 likely had the highest grand average for a US national tournament. The 56 players were placed in 8 groups of 7, with the top three from each group advancing to the knockout phase. Of the 24 finalists, 12 had grand averages above 1.000. Another five had grand averages above 0.900. The USBA will send four players to the PanAmerican Championship tournaments, which will be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina the first week of June. The four players will play in both the individual and team tournaments. Last year, Groot was the highest place winner and qualified for the individual world championship. Piedrabuena and Patino qualified for the world team championship, where they placed eighth.

finalFour The final four players (left to right): Pedro Piedrabuena 2nd, Raymon Groot champion, John Park, 3rd, Kang Lee 3rd.

Live Stream!

Live Stream by CaromSports
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Live Stream by USBALive
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Sponsors: Predator CRM, Royal Pro, Aramith, CaromSports, J Workshop Billiards, Spinhound, Bergen Billiards, USBA

Final Results are Posted

Tournament Results PDF

Carlos Mario Villegas Leads the Field After the Qualifications

Groot Defeats Patino

The Final 8 are John Park vs Ricardo Carranco, Won Sik Kang vs Pedro Piedrabuena, Tae Kyu Lee vs Kang Lee, Raymon Groot vs Seung Kwon Hong.

su1IMG 4859 The Final Eight (left to right): Won Sik Kang, Tae Kyu Lee, John Park, Pedro Piedrabuena, Ricardo Carranco Jr., Raymon Groot, Kang Lee, Seung Kwon Hong.