Heo Jeong-han finishes runner-up at Porto Three-Cushion World Cup, missing historic third title

Heo Jeong-han of South Gyeongsang Province finished runner-up at the 2026 Porto Three-Cushion World Cup.

Heo fell short of the title Sunday (local time) in Porto, Portugal, losing to Belgian powerhouse Eddy Merckx 23-50 in 24 innings in the tournament final.

Heo had built momentum heading into the final, defeating Cho Myung-woo of Seoul Metropolitan Government 50-30 in 20 innings in the quarterfinals before edging Vietnam's Thai Hong Chiem 50-41 in 26 innings in the semifinals.

In the final, however, Merckx came out aggressively from the start, and Heo was unable to close the gap, settling for the runner-up finish.

Heo had won the World Cup in Hurghada, Egypt in 2016 and in Ankara, Turkey in 2024, meaning a victory Sunday would have given him a historic three World Cup titles. Among Korean players, only Cho Myung-woo (five titles) and Kim Haeng-jik (three titles) have won three or more World Cups.

Merckx, who lifted the trophy, claimed his 15th career World Cup title — his first in 13 months since last year's Ankara event — cementing his place as the outright fourth-winningest player in three-cushion history.

South Korea sent five players to the main draw, three of whom — Heo, Cho and Kim Haeng-jik of South Jeolla Province — reached the quarterfinals, the most of any participating country.