World Games 2025 – Day 2

Final Round Participants at the World Games Determined

This Monday, the group stage of the billiards competitions at the World Games in Chengdu, China came to an end. At the same time, the participants for the final rounds were determined.

3-Cushion Men

After Germany’s Martin Horn had already secured first place in Group A on Sunday with two match wins, South Korea’s Myungwoo Cho followed him today. A 40–40 draw against Erick Tellez from Costa Rica was enough for Cho to advance to the last eight thanks to a better overall average.

In Group B, the elimination of Dutchman Dick Jaspers came as the first big surprise. The multiple world champion and World Games winner also lost his second match and was knocked out. Advancing to the quarterfinals instead are Junghan Heo (South Korea) and American Pedro Piedrabuena.

Two matches were still on the schedule in Group C today. First, yesterday’s winner Jeremy Bury (France) and Quyet Chien Tran (Vietnam) drew 40–40. In the last match of the day, Tran narrowly edged out Luis Martinez (Colombia) 40–38, securing his spot in the quarterfinals.

Egypt’s Sameh Sidhom emerged as the winner of Group D. In his second group match this morning, he defeated Turkey’s Tayfun Tasdemir 40–36. This meant Tasdemir had to win against China’s Jiale Qian to reach the quarterfinals — which he did convincingly, 40–17.

The quarterfinal matchups are as follows:

• 11:00 a.m.: Junghan Heo vs. Myungwoo Cho

• 01:30 p.m.: Jeremy Bury vs. Quyet Chien Tran

• 05:00 p.m.: Martin Horn vs. Pedro Piedrabuena

• 07:00 p.m.: Tayfun Tasdemir vs. Sameh Sidhom

3-Cushion Women

The semifinalists in this discipline are already set. Charlotte Sörensen (Denmark) and Jackeline Perez (Peru) both claimed two wins in their groups. In their head-to-head match today, Perez won 25–16, while Kien Tuong Phung (Vietnam) defeated Claudia Lalinde (Colombia) — though it wasn’t enough for her to reach the semifinals.

Other qualifiers include multiple world champion Therese Klompenhouwer (The Netherlands), who dominated all three group matches, underlining her supremacy. Japan’s Ayaka Miyashita finished second in her group after a 25–23 win over Karina Jetten (The Netherlands).

The semifinals are as follows:

• 09:00 a.m.: Therese Klompenhouwer vs. Charlotte Sörensen

• 11:00 a.m.: Ayaka Miyashita vs. Jackeline Perez

• 05:00 p.m.: 3rd place match

Snooker Men
Poland’s Sebastian Milewski topped Group A. After defeating China’s Xiao Guodong 2–1, he won today against Iran’s Ali Gharahgozlou 2–0. Xiao also advanced to the quarterfinals as runner-up.

In Group B, the match for first place saw Muhammad Asif (Pakistan) beat Germany’s Alexander Widau 2–1, potentially giving him a better draw for the quarterfinals. Third place went to China’s Xiaolong Liang.

In Group C, Darryl Hill (Great Britain) beat Sourav Kothari (India) 2–1 in the morning, but later lost 0–2 to fellow Brit Zac Cosker. All three players ended with one win and one loss; on frame difference, Kothari finished first ahead of Cosker, with Hill eliminated.

Group D was more clear-cut: Ali Al Obaidli (Qatar) followed up yesterday’s win over Kamal Chawla (India) with a 2–1 victory over Michael Georgiou (Cyprus), taking first place. Georgiou later beat Chawla 2–1 to also reach the knockout stage.

Quarterfinal matchups:
•    11:00 a.m.: Muhammad Asif vs. Zac Cosker
•    01:30 p.m.: Xiao Guodong vs. Sourav Kothari
•    05:00 p.m.: Ali Al Obaidli vs. Alexander Widau
•    07:00 p.m.: Michael Georgiou vs. Sebastian Milewski

Snooker Women
The women’s 6-reds snooker semifinalists have been decided. In Group A, three players ended with two wins each. Belgium’s Wendy Jans had the best frame difference, while the head-to-head result between Narucha Phoemphul (Thailand) and Man Yan So (Hong Kong, China) went in Phoemphul’s favor.

In Group B, Ploychompoo Laokiatphong (Thailand) marched to first place with three wins. Yulu Bai (China) finished second after a tense group stage. Narantuya Bayarsaikhan (Mongolia) and Mei Mei Fong (Hong Kong, China) were eliminated.

Semifinals:
•    09:00 a.m.: Ploychompoo Laokiatphong vs. Narucha Phoemphul
•    11:00 a.m.: Yulu Bai vs. Wendy Jans
•    05:00 p.m.: 3rd place match

Pool Men
The men’s 10-ball quarterfinalists are also set. In Group A, Estonia’s Denis Grabe and Peru’s Gerson Martinez advanced. Martinez defeated New Zealand’s Lincoln Muaulu 9–2 today.

In Group B, Hungary’s Oliver Szolnoki staged a remarkable comeback from 4–8 down to beat Jeffrey de Luna (Philippines) 9–8, securing first place and a quarterfinal berth. Kun-Lin Wu (Chinese Taipei) also advanced after beating de Luna 9–5 on Sunday.

Group C was tense: Poland’s Daniel Maciol, after a dominant win on Sunday, lost 3–9 to China’s Jinhu Dang, who later lost to compatriot Zhenqi Xue. With all three players on one win and one loss, frame difference put Dang and Maciol through, eliminating Xue.

Group D was more straightforward: defending champion Joshua Filler (Germany) won both matches 9–5, while Poland’s Wojciech Szewczyk claimed a 9–5 victory over Chia-Chen Hsieh (Chinese Taipei) to also advance.

Quarterfinals:
•    11:00 a.m.: Joshua Filler vs. Daniel Maciol
•    01:30 p.m.: Gerson Martinez vs. Dang Jinhu
•    05:00 p.m.: Oliver Szolnoki vs. Kun-Lin Wu
•    07:00 p.m.: Wojciech Szewczyk vs. Denis Grabe

Pool Women
Drama unfolded in Group A of the women’s 10-ball. Germany’s Ina Kaplan lost 4–7 to Spain’s Mayte Ropero, meaning all three players had one win and one loss. Kaplan and neutral athlete Kristina Tkach had identical –1 frame differences, but Kaplan advanced as runner-up thanks to her 7–5 head-to-head win over Tkach. Ropero topped the group.

In Group B, China’s Shasha Liu beat Rubilen Amit (Philippines) 7–4 for first place. Germany’s Pia Filler, who also beat Amit on Sunday, finished second.

Group C saw China’s Yu Han win twice by the narrowest 7–6 margin — first against Chezka Centeno (Philippines) and then against Savannah Easton (USA). Since Centeno had earlier beaten Easton 7–2, she advanced as runner-up.

Finally, Australia’s Meng-Hsia Hung won Group D with victories over Soledad Ayala (Argentina) and Brittany Bryant (Canada). In the evening, Ayala narrowly beat Bryant 7–6 to claim second place.

Quarterfinals:
•    11:00 a.m.: Shasha Liu vs. Soledad Ayala
•    01:30 p.m.: Chezka Centeno vs. Mayte Ropero
•    05:00 p.m.: Yu Han vs. Pia Filler
•    07:00 p.m.: Meng-Hsia Hung vs. Ina Kaplan

Heyball
The last two round-of-16 matches were played today. Shivam Arora (India) defeated Sweden’s Kevin Zarekani 5–1, while Kin Ling Yip (Hong Kong, China) beat Tamara Rademakers (The Netherlands) 5–2.

The rest of the day featured placement matches. Marina Jacobs (South Africa), Warathanun Sukritthanes (Thailand), Corey Deuel (USA), and Kevin Zarekani shared ninth place with one win each, while Adriana Villar (Costa Rica), Anran Yu (Singapore), April Larson (USA), and Tamara Rademakers shared 13th place.

Tuesday’s quarterfinals:
•    11:00 a.m.: Tianqi Shi vs. Chunxiao Tang
•    01:30 p.m.: Jason Theron vs. Alejandro Carvajal
•    05:00 p.m.: Taiyi Zhang vs. Xin Liu
•    07:00 p.m.: Shivam Arora vs. Kin Ling Yip