18 events including 3-cushion and 1-cushion at the ‘2023 European Championship’ in Antalya, Turkey … 74 people from 3 countries in men’s and women’s national matches,
too contrasting with the Asian Carom Championships,
Korea, Vietnam, and Europe Billiards Open

Korea and Vietnam are representative billiard powerhouses. Strictly speaking, it is a carom powerhouse represented by 3 cushions.

The thick player base and solid infrastructure are world-class.

However, if you broaden your horizons and look at Asia, it is regrettable. Only three countries, Korea, Vietnam and Japan, participated in the Asia Carom Championships held in Yanggu not too long ago.

In that sense, the European Continental Carom Championships, which recently ended, are enviable.토스카지노

The 2023 European Championship, the European carom championship, was held in Antalya, a famous resort city in Turkey, for 9 days from the 8th to 9th. About 400 people from 18 countries competed in 18 events. Players from European carom powerhouses, including the host country Turkey, Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark, Greece and Sweden, gathered in one place and competed in various events such as 3-cushion, 1-cushion, art ball, ball line, and 5-pin. It is no exaggeration to say that it is a European billiards festival beyond the championship. It cannot be compared to the continent of Asia, where Korea and Vietnam compete for the title.

With a large number of world top players participating, Marco Zanetti (4th in the world) and Teresa Klompenhauer (Netherlands) won the men’s and women’s 3-cushion event. Also, World Junior 3-Cushion Champion Burak Hashas (Turkiye) reached the top of the U-25 (under 25) 3-Cushion at the age of 17, establishing himself as the next-generation representative of the world’s 3-Cushion.

I was envious of the 3-cushion national competition, which was divided into men’s and women’s divisions due to the large number of participating countries. In the men’s event, Greece of Nikos Polychronopoulos (13th) and Konstantinos Kokoris won the title by defeating Tobjorn Bromdal (8th) and Michael Nilsson of Sweden. In the women’s division, Klompenhauer and Monique van Ekster led the Netherlands to the top and won two gold medals in the tournament.

In the end, Turkey (4 golds, 3 silvers, 5 bronzes) took first place overall, followed by Italy (4 golds, 1 silver and 3 bronzes), the Netherlands (2 golds, 1 silver and 5 bronzes) and Spain (2 silvers, 1 bronze and 2 golds). The sight of players from all over Europe competing for the overall rankings is not only comparable to a continental competition, but it is safe to say that it is a ‘mini-Olympic’.

Watching the European competition held like a festival, the Asian Carom Championship held in Yanggu just a month ago naturally overlapped.

This year’s Asian Championships (the 11th Asian Carom Championships) were held for the first time in four years after being unable to open due to ‘Corona 19’.

Korean players such as Cho Myung-woo (10th, Silk Road CNT, Seoul City Hall), who won the championship with explosive skills, and Han Ji-eun (Seongnam Billiards Federation) and Kim Do-heon (Suwon Billiards Federation) were fierce.

However, in terms of the scale of the event, such as the number of participating countries, it was regrettable. At the Asian Championships, 74 athletes from Korea, Vietnam, and Japan competed in four events. It was in stark contrast to the European Championship, in which 400 people from 18 countries competed in 18 events.

Billiards fever and infrastructure in Korea and Vietnam exceed the Asian level. In particular, Korea is to the point of being the envy of other countries. Bromdal (Sweden) and Klompenhauer, the ‘Emperors of Billiards’, said in an interview with MK Billiard News, “The billiards culture and infrastructure in their countries are incomparably lacking compared to those in Korea.”

Oh Seong-gyu, CEO of Five and Six, said, “It is true that European countries have a shallow 3-cushion player base compared to Asia, but the presence of players representing each country is certain. In addition, Europe enjoys various carom events such as 1 cushion, balc line, and 5 pin by country,” he said.

Regardless of industry or sports, the market can grow only when the board is large. There is a limit to heat and infrastructure alone.

As a Korean billiards fan who has nothing to be ashamed of in terms of heat and infrastructure, I envy the environment of European billiards held like a continental festival.