Three Cushion Billiard News
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Image courtesy WCBS.
LIVE Stream on the WCBS YouTube Channel
Select Matches will be broadcast on the World Games Live Platform
The 2025 World Games will take place in Chengdu, China from August 7 to 17 and cue sports will be played in seven medal events in 3-Cushion, 10-Ball, Heyball, and Snooker. Pedro Piedrabuena will represent the USA in the Men's 3-Cushion event where 12 players will compete. The Group Stages begin on August 10 and the competitions are completed on the 14th of August.
The Billiard Events are:
3-Cushion Men: 12 participants
3-Cushion Women: 8 participants
10-Ball Men: 12 participants
10-Ball Women: 12 participants
Heyball Mixed: 16 participants
Snooker 15-Reds Men: 12 participants
Snooker 6-Reds Women: 8 participants
Here is a link to the official World Games website:
The World Confederation of Billiards Sports (WCBS) will provide coverage and results on their website and social media pages. Here you can download:
Competition Schedule | Training Schedule | Playing Format & System | Player List
Image courtesy WCBS.
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Bida Em 6 Years Anniversary
Tournament Results
The Bida Em 6 Years Anniversary Toutnament will be held over the July 4th weekend in Arlington, Texas. David Nguyen and Texas 3 Cushion Billiards is helping to promote the tournament. There are 96 players for the field with many of the top USA players participating.
Below is the schedule for the first two days.
Looks like an exciting tournament and matches will be streamed on YouTube Texas3CushioBilliards.
Best of luck to all the players.
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George Aronek Passes at 98
George Aronek (left) at the 1996 Sang Lee International Open.
by Charles Brown
George Aronek, former USBA President and a great ambassador for 3-cushion billiards passed on Saturday, June 28 at the age of 98. In a post on AZBilliards Bill Smith, a longtime friend of George, stated that George died in his sleep in a nursing home after contracting COVID.
I first met George at the 1996 Sang Lee International Open Tournament held at Sang Lee’s room in Jackson Heights, NYC. George was tournament director and he was inputting the results on charts that he had hand drawn. Everything he was doing was precise, meticulous, and beautifully done—all by hand. He knew his stuff and he made everyone comfortable.
George Aronek (left) at the 1996 Sang Lee International Open.
Not long after that I found myself in the role of tournament director and was responsible for running tournaments and providing results charts. Bewildered as how to proceed, I remembered that week of watching George and resolved that I could use his methods as my model. He would be my mentor. So, I got myself a big piece of poster board and some markers and, although I knew the charts would never be as beautiful as the ones George had made, I was determined to make them clear and legible and keep them up-to-date. But, more importantly, the real lesson I learned from George was that I needed to be fair, kind, open-minded, and to approach everything (and everyone) in a friendly and warm-hearted manner if I wanted to succeed as tournament director and ensure the success of future USBA events, just like I had observed George had handled it a couple of years before at the S.L International.
Results Chart. 2016 USBA National Qualifier at the Burbank Elks Lodge 1497. Hand drawn by George Aronek (signed G.A. in bottom right corner). Courtesy: Professorqball.com.
Since then the results charts I use have evolved to spreadsheets and now databases (designed by others) that are mostly automatic. The real point is that any success I have had as tournament director has been built on the traditions and foundations laid by many that came before me, and, hopefully I have made some small improvements which is only natural as time progresses. George Aronek provided a solid foundation for me—I only needed to observe him for a short time to understand how things should be done.
B&W photo (c. 1968) of Masako Katsura on a visit to San Francisco aiming a straight-rail massé at Palace Billiards. Seated to her left is Robert Byrne. Seated at extreme left is George Aronek. Courtesy: The Billiard Archive.
George Aronek was a good friend with Allen Gilbert and you could often see them together at events. He was instrumental in the development of the BFUSA and subsequently the USBA. As a former president, tournament director, player, and promoter of 3-cushion, George was a prominent figure throughout the history of the game in the USA and will be remembered by many for a long time to come.
Here's a post from Lefty Gilbert which shows a photo of George Aronek playing billiards just 2 weeks prior.
George Aronek signature. Courtesy: The Billiard Archive.
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2025 Panamerican Championship May 31st to June 6th in Argentina
Livestream, Results, and Schedule on the CPB Facebook Page
Team USA (L to R): John Park, Seung Kwon Hong, Raymon Groot, and Pedro Piedrabuena. Photo: El Profe de Billar (Link to El Profe de Billar).
Overview of the venue for the 2025 Panamerican Championships.
Team Tournament
Colombia Wins the 2025 Panamerican Team Championship
Colombia A with Pedro Gonzalez and Huberney Catano.
USA Takes Silver Medal in the Panamerican Team Championship
USA A with Raymon Groot and Pedro Piedrabuena.
The final of the Team competition.
USA A Advances to the Finals along with Colombia A
USA A Advances to the Semifinals With Win Over USA B
Pedro Piedrabuena Finishes in 11 Innings
USA Team A and USA Team B Both Advance and Face Each Other in the Opening Round of the Final
Alejandro Santiago of México is the 2025 Panamerican Champion
Alejandro Santiago of México wins the final to become the 2025 Panamerican Champion. He scored 50 points in 27 innings against Luis Sobreyra, also from México, who scored 33 points in 26 innings. Congratulations to México!
Huberney Cataño Knocks Out Pedro Piedrabuena
June 3rd Results
Pedro Piedrabuena Wins Against John Park in the Round of 32
SK Hong Loses to Pedro Gonzalez
Park, Hong, and Piedrabuena Advance, Groot Misses Out
June 2nd Results
Seung Kwon Hong, John Park, and Raymon Groot Win Their First Matches
Playing their first matches in the evening of June 2nd, Seung Kwon Hong, John Park, and Raymon Groot all racked up wins to make it an impressive day for Team USA. Seung Kown Hong and John Park both finished in 18 innings and Raymon Groot finished in 21 innings. Add to that Pedro's 3 matches from earlier in the day of 12, 14 and 18 innings it gives Team USA a grand average for the day of 1.782 (180 points in 101 innings). Go USA!
Pedro Piedrabuena shooting in his 3rd match.
Pedro Piedrabuena Scores 30 in 12, 14, and 18 Innings
Pedro won his first two matches scoring 30 points in 12 and 14 innings in decisive fashion. He could only tie in his 3rd match against Alejandro Santiago of Mexico, both players finishing in 18 innings.
Pedro in action in Argentina.
Team USA in the background.
Qualification Groups for USBA Players
USA Players Qualification Groups.
The Qualification Groups for the USBA Players are as follows: John Park (USA) in Group A along with Luis Angel Martinez (COL), Cristian Rubilar (CHI), and Carlos Ochoa (MEX); Pedro Piedrabuena (USA) in Group B along with Alejandro Santiago (MEX), Fernando Moreira (URU), and Eduardo Vahedzian (ARG); Raymon Groot (USA) in Group J along with Marco Sobarzo (CHI), Mathias Moscoso (PER), and Manuel Torreira (DOM); Seung Kwon Hong (USA) in Group K along with Miguel Guixe (URU), Mauro Salvador (ARG), and Tirso Gonzalez (DOM).
The 2025 Panamerican Championships will be held in Argentina again this year beginning May 31st and continuing through June 6th at the Boedo Billar Club (Av Medrano 468, Caba, Argentina). USA players will compete in the Individual (Máxima Masculina) and the Team (Equipos) competitions. The results at the Panamerican Championship decides in part which players and teams are eligible to compete in the World Championships, both Individual and Team.
4 USBA Players to Compete in Argentina
Raymon Groot (USBA National Champion), Pedro Piedrabuena, John Park, and Seung Kwon Hong will compete at the Panamerican Championship.
Here is a PDF of the offical announcement (in Spanish).
Here are the Inscriptions as of May 25th.
Best of Luck to Team USA!
