A Belgian crowned world champion in three-cushion billiards
Frédéric Caudron has been crowned world champion for the fourth time in his professional career. This 54-year-old Belgian is a world reference in his discipline and a real star in South Korea, a country where three-cushion billiards is particularly popular.
For the record, a three-cushion billiards competition is a discipline originating in Carom billiards that is played on a table without holes (unlike pool or snooker) and consists of touching two other coloured balls by bouncing the first one off at least three cushions before the last ball is touched. This billiard game is also called "carombole".
Frédéric Caudron has just won the final of the Professional Billiards Association (PBA) world tournament, held this year in South Korea. He defeated the Spanish David Zapata, currently 5th in the world, by a score of 5 sets to 3.
Although he lives in Herentals (province of Antwerp), Frédéric Caudron spends most of the year in South Korea. Three-cushion billiards is particularly popular in this Asian country and enjoys widespread media coverage, with the systematic television broadcasting of all the big tournaments. As a professional billiards player, the Belgian enjoys full star status in the eyes of the Koreans.
By winning a fourth world title, Frédéric Caudron becomes the most successful Belgian after the invincible Raymond Ceulemans. Ceulemans was a true legend of the discipline, having won the world championship title 35 times during his career.