World No. 1 seeks to extend lead; Heo Jung-han also in contention in Ankara
Three members of South Korea's national three-cushion billiards team — world No. 1 Cho Myung-woo, Heo Jung-han and Kim Ha-eun — will compete at the Ankara 3-Cushion World Cup in Turkey.
Cho leads the charge. With four World Cup titles to his name, he is chasing a fifth. He claimed his first World Cup crown in Sharm el-Sheikh in 2022, then added titles in Porto and Gwangju in 2025 and Bogota in 2026, cementing his status as the face of Korean three-cushion billiards.
Qualifying rounds began Monday, and Cho — seeded by his world ranking — enters the main draw Friday in the round of 32. Placed in Group A, he opens against Pedro Piedrabuena of the United States.
Cho has been in strong form this season. He won the Bogota World Cup, the first World Cup of the year, to reaffirm his standing as world No. 1.
Heo Jung-han, a two-time World Cup champion, is also drawing attention. He has won consecutive domestic titles this year and arrives in Ankara on an upward trajectory.
In March, Heo won the men's three-cushion final at the 14th Gukto Jeongjungang Cup 2026 National Billiards Championship, defeating Kim Haeng-jik of the South Jeolla Province Billiards Federation and Jindo-gun Office 50-43. He then claimed his second national title of the season in May at the 2026 Jindo Arirang National 3-Cushion Billiards Championship, beating Choi Ho-ta of the South Jeolla Province Billiards Federation 50-33.
Heo has particularly fond memories of Ankara. At the 2024 Ankara World Cup final, he defeated Vietnam's Bao Phuong Vinh 50-31 to win his second career World Cup title — his first since the 2016 Egypt World Cup, a gap of eight years.
Kim Ha-eun, the standard-bearer of Korean women's billiards, will also compete in Ankara. In 2024, she became the first Korean woman to reach No. 1 in the UMB women's three-cushion world rankings, joining Cho to give South Korea the distinction of holding both the men's and women's world No. 1 rankings simultaneously.
All three national team members arrive in Ankara in strong form. Fans will be watching to see how they perform not only at the World Cup but also at the world championships to follow. All matches at the 2026 Ankara 3-Cushion Billiards World Cup will be streamed live on SOOP.
yjc@heraldcorp.com
