South Korean billiards star and world number one Cho Myung-woo (Seoul City Hall) has returned to the top of the Korea Billiards Federation (KBF) President's Cup for the first time in 7 years.

Cho claimed the trophy by defeating Song Yoon-do (Hongseong High School Affiliated CS High School) 50-36 in the men's carom 3-cushion final of the "2026 KBF President's Cup National Billiards Tournament with SOOP," held today (August 9) at the Yanggu General Sports Town in Yanggu-gun, Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province.

The final drew significant attention as a showdown between senior and junior players: Cho Myung-woo, representing the "present" of South Korean 3-cushion billiards, and Song Yoon-do, the "future" who grew up as a "Cho Myung-woo kid" since his youth and joined the national team.

Cho set the record as the youngest-ever winner of a domestic adult 3-cushion national tournament at 19 years and 5 months old at this event in 2017. Following his victory in 2019, he reached the top once again this year, celebrating his third career title at the tournament.

After claiming the championship, Cho shared his thoughts, saying, "I have many fond memories in Yanggu, so I prepared hard with a strong desire to win. In the last two consecutive tournaments, I met teenage players in the finals. Both of them play really well, so I couldn't let my guard down for even a moment when playing against younger players."

Jung Seung-il (Seoul Billiards Federation) and Lee Bum-yeol (Siheung City Sports Council) tied for third place in the men's division.

In the women's general 3-cushion division, Heo Chae-won (Seoul Billiards Federation) pulled off an upset by defeating the dominant Park Se-jung (Gyeongbuk Billiards Federation), who had been chasing a streak of 7 consecutive titles in federation-hosted tournaments, 25-15 in the final.

Shedding tears of joy as she stood at the top of a national tournament for the first time in a while since the 20th Korean Sport & Olympic Committee President's Cup in November 2025, Heo said, "It was difficult recently because my results weren't matching the preparation I put in. I lost every time I met Park Se-jung this year, but this time, focusing solely on playing my own game led to a good result."

Hwang Ryung-in (Gangwon Billiards Federation) and Baek Ga-in (Chungnam Billiards Federation) tied for third place in the women's division.

In the men's general pocket 9-ball final, Ha Min-wook (Busan Metropolitan City Sports Council) defeated Lee Dae-gyu (Seoul City Hall) to win the championship, while Go Tae-young (Gyeongbuk Sports Council) and Kim Su-woong (Seoul City Hall) shared third place.

In the women's division, Kwon Bo-mi (Gangwon Billiards Federation) claimed the crown by edging out Kim Jung-hyun (Chungbuk Billiards Federation), with Song Na-kyung (Gyeongnam Billiards Federation) and Jin Hye-joo (Gwangju Billiards Federation) tying for third place.

(Photo provided by Korea Billiards Federation, Yonhap News)