Three Cushion Billiard News
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Images: Jonathan Damian
Raymon Groot & Hugo Patino Head to Viersen for the World Team Championship
The 36th World Championship for National Teams will be contested from the 21st to the 24th of March 2024 at the Festhalle in Viersen, Germany. Sixteen two-man teams will compete and Raymon Groot and Hugo Patino will play for Team USA. Defending champions Turkey will be joined by Germany, Greece, Sweden, The Netherlands, France, Spain, Belgium, Colombia, Argentina, USA, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Egypt, and Jordan. The USA is in Qualification Group B along with Korea, Colombia, and Greece. The USA will face Korea in their first match scheduled for Thursday, March 21 at 4:00 PM German time. Groot will play Myung Woo Cho and Patino is matched up against Jung Han Heo.
Best of luck to Team USA!
Team USA congratulations after the first match.
Groot Tops Cho and it's All Square in Group B after the First Matches
It was Korea vs USA and Colombia vs Greece in Group B for the first matches and both ended in draws for the teams. Jung Han Heo prevailed over Hugo Patino but Raymon Groot leveled the match with a determined effort to finish 40-39 in 31 innings over Myung Woo Cho (who currently holds the #1 position on the UMB Wolrd Players Ranking). Huberney Catano was the winner for Colombia and Demitrios Seleventas scored the win for Greece so all four teams are level with 1 match point after the first round. Korea leads on average followed by USA, Colombia, and then Greece.
Team USA in action.
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Top row l to r: Pedro Piedrabuena, Hugo Patino, John Park; Middle row l to r: Raymon Groot, Seung Kwon Hong, Quoc Vo, Bottom row l to right: Victor Cuzzi, Edward Gomez, and Jovanny Ceballos
Nine USBA Players to Represent the USA at Bogotá World Cup
The UMB Bogotá World Cup begins February 26 and runs through March 3 at the Coliseo Cubierto el Salitre in Bogotá, Colombia. Nine US Players will participate: Pedro Piedrabuena, Hugo Patino, John Park, Raymon Groot, Quoc Vo, Seung Kwon Hong, Victor Cuzzi, Edward Gomez, and Jovanny Ceballos. The USBA is well represented by this group of players.
Pedro Piedrabuena is the CPB wildcard and will be seeded into the round of 16 in Group A along with Dick Jaspers and two other players who will advance from the qualification round. The round of 16 matches begin on the 1st of March and Pedro will face-off against Jaspers at 10:00AM local time (COT, Colombia time which is the same as EST). Hugo Patino begins play on the 28th in the PQ rounds.
Seung Kwon Hong and Raymon Groot begin on the 27th in the PPQ round.
Edward Gomez, John Park, Quoc Vo, Jovanny Ceballos, and Victor Cuzzi are in the PPPQ round which begins on the 26th.
Follow the action live at Five&Six Cuesco:
The complete timetable for the matches can be found here on the UMB website:
All the best to our players from the USBA and be sure to tune in and root for your favorite players!
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The final 8 players in the Florida Qualifier at Carom Billiards.
Florida Qualifier Completes the Cycle
Hernan Patarroyo, Julian Molina, Julio Rincon, & Andres Garcia Qualify in Florida
Sixteen players showed up to compete in the Qualifier at Carom Billiards in Lauderhill, Florida on March 30th. They playerd 2 groups of 8 players, round robin with matches to 20 points. The top four from each group advanced to a single elimination for a spot in the Nationals. Hernan Patarroyo led the way in Group A with no losses followed by Jorge Hernandez, Leonardo Aguilar, and Julio Rincon. In Group B it was David Ramirez on top followed by Julian Molina, Andres Garcia, and Eder Zapata.
Here are the scores for the final matches:
Hernan Patarroyo (20) vs Eder Zapata (17)
Jorge Hernández (16) vs Andres García (20)
Leonardo Aguilar (17) vs Julian Molina (20)
Julio Rincón (20) vs David Ramirez (17)
Another Northern California Qualifier
The field of players at Billiard Palacade in San Francisco
Jesus Corona, David Lopez, & Leonardo Flores Qualify in San Francisco
Billiard Palacade in San Francisco hosted a qualifier on Saturday, February 24th and attracted a field of fifteen players to compete for spots in the Nationals. The top three players who qualified are Jesus Corona, David Lopez, and Leonardo Flores. Congratulations!
Another Weekend Another Qualifier
Vicke Pineda, Ricardo Carranco, Jim Semerci, & Francisco Bonilla Qualify in Modesto
Twenty-two players participated in the qualifier held at The Billiard House in Modesto, CA, the host room for the 2024 USBA National Championship. The tournament was held beginning on February 3rd and Vicke Pineda, Ricardo Carranco, Jim Semerci, & Francisco Bonilla topped the field to qualify for the nationals. Nice to see a big turnout and plenty of activity at the new room that is hosting the nationals this year.
Busy Weekend of Qualifiers: Tacoma, Milpitas, New York
Three USBA National Qualifiers were held the weekend of January 26 to 28.
Ertan Tarhan & Roderick VanderVaart Qualify in Tacoma
There was a field of twelve players at the Elks Lodge #174 in Tacoma, WA for the first of three qualifiers over the weekend. Jesus Quinonez finished 1st overall but he will not be able to participate at the Nationals so the two spots went to 2nd and 3rd place finishers Ertan Tarhan and Roderick VanderVaart.
Quoc Thinh Le, Vinh Nguyen, & Julio Cervantes Qualify in Milpitas
Sixteen players participated in the qualifier held at Jimmy’s Billiards in Milpitas with Quoc Thinh Le, Vinh Nguyen, and Julio Cervantes qualifying finishing 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. The tournament was run by room owner Jim Semerci.
Carlos Mario Villegas & Harry Pena Qualify in New York
At Carom Café Billiards in New York there were ten players that competed in two Groups of 5 and Carlos Mario Villegas & Harry Pena finished at the top of the field to qualify for the Nationals.
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Hugo Patiño. Photo: Jonathan Damian
The Seoul World Cup 3-Cushion runs from November 6 to 11 at the Korean National Training Center (TAEREUMG) in Seoul, South Korea. Hugo Patiño will represent the USA and is seeded into the Qualification round (Q) which begins play on Thursday, November 9. Hugo is Player 1 in Group H and his matches are scheduled for 14:30 and 17:30 local time. Be sure to tune in and show your support!
Follow the action live at Five&Six Cuesco:
http://umb.cuesco.net/competition/info?idx=164
Currently ranked number 33 on the UMB World Players Ranking, Patiño finished 2nd in the 2023 USBA National Championship. He is a 4-time USBA National Champion (2003, 2009, 2016, and 2019) and a 4-time runner up in the nationals. At the recent 2023 Carom Café International Open Patiño led the field after the qualification rounds. From there he advanced to the quarterfinals where he was stopped by Luis Aveiga. Patiño was the 2016 Panamerican Three Cushion Champion.
Tournament Details
Seoul World Cup
November 6 to 12, 2023
Organized by: UMB / ACBC