Korea's three-cushion representatives Kim Haeng-jik (Jeonnam-Jindo County), Kang Jae-in (Chungbuk Sports Council), and Cha Myung-jong (Incheon Sports Council) advanced from the preliminary round to the finals.
Kim Haeng-jik (Jeonnam) drew 40-40 with Alp Ahmet (Turkey) in the group stage of Group C at the final qualifying round of the '2025 Ankara Three-Cushion World Cup' held on the 12th (Korean time) in Turkey.
With this, Kim Haeng-jik, who recorded 1 win and 1 draw, joined the round of 32 in second place after Alp. Kim Haeng-jik aims for the round of 16 in Group C alongside Eddy Merckx (Belgium), Tại Hồng Chiêm (Vietnam), and Ilmaz Ozkan (Turkey).
Kang Jae-in and Cha Myung-jong passed the final qualifying round in first place. Kang Jae-in recorded 2 wins and no losses in Group F, which included Nikos Polychronopoulos (Greece), while Cha Myung-jong recorded 1 win and 1 loss among three players in Group G but achieved the highest average (1.644).
Kang Jae-in was grouped in Group D with Trần Quyết Chiến, Bảo Phương Bình (both Vietnam), and Muhammed Rahmet (Turkey), while Cha Myung-jong belongs to Group F with Typhoon Tashdemir (Turkey), Martin Horn (Germany), and Ruben Legaspi (Spain).
In contrast, Frederic Caudron (Netherlands), along with Hwang Bong-joo and Seo Chang-hoon (both Siheung Sports Council), was eliminated. In particular, Caudron, who was in Group E, became a victim of an upset after losing 31-40 in his first match against Pierre Soumagne (France).
The round of 32 group stage, starting at 4 p.m. on the 13th, will also feature Korea's top-ranked player, Sidz Ja Myung-woo (Silk Road C&T-Seoul City Hall), and Heo Jeong-han (Gyeongnam).
Ja Myung-woo will face Glenn Hoffman (Netherlands), Salman Gokhan, and Tarik Yavuz (Turkey) in Group B, while Heo Jeong-han will meet Marco Zanetti (Italy), Bedat Ilmaz, and Omer Karakurt (Turkey) in Group G.
Meanwhile, all matches of this tournament will be broadcast live worldwide through SOOP. The cable channels of SOOP, including KT (Channel 129), D'Live (Channel 160), LGU+ (Channel 120), LG HelloVision (Channel 194), SK Broadband (Channel 234), and Seogyeong Broadcasting (Channel 256), will also provide coverage. The schedule for live broadcasts, replays, and highlights can be found on SOOP's 'billiards special page.'
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