Press Release, April 13th, 2025 (Day 6)
EC Three Cushion National Teams and Individual | 8 - 13 April 2025
Martin Horn is the New 3-Cushion European Champion
Martin Horn is the new 3-cushion European champion! At the continental championship held in Ankara, Türkiye, the German secured the title with a 50:30 victory over Belgian Roland Forthomme. After finishing as runner-up last year, Horn has now claimed the European crown for 2025.
The 54-year-old German opened the final and immediately took the lead. After intermediate scores of 10:6, 14:6, and 16:11, he went into the mandatory five-minute break with a 25:13 lead.
Shortly after the game resumed, a key moment occurred. Horn produced a ten-point run, extending his lead to 35:13. Forthomme was visibly shaken, and just moments later, he found himself trailing 14:42.
Despite the seemingly hopeless deficit, the Belgian continued to fight for every point, narrowing the gap from 21:42 to 29:46. Horn, now on alert, added three more points and had match point. Although he missed it by just a few centimeters, he sealed the win on the next visit to the table. With a 50:30 victory, he claimed the European title and was the first to salute the crowd, gesturing toward his national coach Christian Rudolph.
For Martin Horn, this marks the first individual European Championship title in his long and successful billiards career – a significant milestone and well-deserved reward for years of dedication and top-level performances.
Semifinal 1: Eddy Merckx – Roland Forthomme 28:50
In the duel between the two Belgians, Eddy Merckx initially had the better start, taking an early lead after just a few innings. However, Roland Forthomme fought back and eventually took the lead at 18:16. He then added an impressive nine-point run to go into the break with a 27:16 lead.
Forthomme returned from the break with the same momentum, while Merckx continued to struggle. With scores of 32:20, 38:24, and 46:28, the 13th seed steadily extended his lead and crossed the finish line first, winning 50:28 after 26 innings.
Semifinal 2: Jeffrey Jorissen – Martin Horn 24:50
Martin Horn dominated his semifinal from the outset. He led 5:3 early on, but a ten-point run saw the German pull ahead to 15:3.
By the break—after just ten innings—his lead had grown to 26:7. While Jorissen used the five-minute interval to refocus outside the arena, Horn remained confidently seated at the table, patiently awaiting the match to resume. The Dutchman managed to reduce the deficit to 20:34 with a six-point run, but then Horn took control again. With the score at 42:24, he delivered another decisive eight-point run, sealing his place in the final.
This marks the end of six days of top-level 3-cushion billiards in the host country Türkiye. The event ran smoothly as planned, and the numerous spectators on-site and via livestream witnessed great sportsmanship and world-class performances.
Highest Run of the Day: Martin Horn with 10 points each against Jeffrey Jorissen & Roland Forthomme
Best Average of the Day: Roland Forthomme with 1.923 against Eddy Merckx
Gold Medal: Martin Horn (Germany)
Silver Medal: Roland Forthomme (Belgium)
Bronze Medals: Eddy Merckx (Belgium) & Jeffrey Jorissen (Netherlands)
All results: https://www.eurobillard.org/events/ec3cind-479.html#matches
Photogalleries April 13th (Final day):
https://billard1.net/photos/2025/CEB/13-04-1/
https://billard1.net/photos/2025/CEB/13-04-2/
https://billard1.net/photos/2025/CEB/13-04-3/
https://billard1.net/photos/2025/CEB/13-04-4-ceremony
Press Release, April 12th, 2025 (Day 5)
EC Three Cushion National Teams and Individual | 8 - 13 April 2025
Semifinalists Confirmed – Blomdahl Eliminated
The 3-Cushion Individual European Championship in Ankara, Türkiye, are entering their decisive phase – without defending champion Torbjörn Blomdahl. The Swedish former world champion was defeated today in the quarterfinals by Belgian player Eddy Merckx.
Merckx took control from the start and created some distance between himself and his opponent with a run of twelve points. Blomdahl tried to close the gap throughout the match but was ultimately unsuccessful. After 26 innings, his dream of defending the title was over.
In tomorrow’s semifinal, Merckx will face his compatriot Roland Forthomme, who overtook Italy’s Marco Zanetti in the final stretch of their quarterfinal. The audience in Ankara and viewers of the livestream witnessed a high-class match, with both players impressing with averages above 2.000.
The last two quarterfinals were held in the evening. Germany’s Martin Horn dazzled with a twelve-point run in the very first inning, establishing an early lead. His opponent Ruben Legazpi (Spain) fought his way back into the match, and just when it seemed he might turn it around, Horn responded with another run of twelve. After twenty innings and an exact average of 2.500, Horn emerged victorious with a 50:35 win.
Last but not least, Jeffrey Jorissen (Netherlands) also secured his place in the semifinals, where he will face Horn. In his quarterfinal, he faced Belgian Peter Ceulemans and built up a comfortable lead early on. Ceulemans closed the gap somewhat with a nine-point run, but it wasn’t enough to prevent a 50:40 defeat.
Round of 16:
Among the most thrilling matches in the round of 16 was the encounter between Roland Forthomme and Frenchman Mikael Devogelaere. Neither player managed to pull away decisively, and with runs of five and six points respectively, neither achieved a high series. It was clear that the match would remain tight until the end. Ultimately, Forthomme prevailed 50:47 after 37 innings.
A surprisingly one-sided result came from Ruben Legazpi, who defeated local hero Tayfun Tasdemir (Türkiye). With a 13-point run, the Spaniard gave himself breathing room and continued to widen the gap. After 19 innings and an average of 2.631, Legazpi convincingly won 50:20.
Berkay Karakurt and Yilmaz Özcan were the last hopes for host nation Türkiye. However, Marco Zanetti (50:39 against Karakurt) and Peter Ceulemans (50:25 against Özcan) proved to be the stronger players at that moment, meaning the European Championship would proceed without any Türkiye players in the final stages.
Highest Run of the Day: Ruben Legazpi with 13 points against Tayfun Tasdemir
Best Average of the Day: Eddy Merckx with 2.777 against Jeremy Bury (France)
All Results of the Day:
Round of 16:
Torbjörn Blomdahl vs. Sergio Jimenez 50:20
Eddy Merckx vs. Jeremy Bury 50:32
Marco Zanetti vs. Berkay Karakurt 50:39
Roland Forthomme vs. Mikael Devogelaere 50:47
Dick Jaspers vs. Jeffrey Jorissen 32:50
Yilmaz Özcan vs. Peter Ceulemans 25:50
Tayfun Tasdemir vs. Ruben Legazpi 20:50
Arnim Kahofer vs. Martin Horn 32:50
Quarterfinals:
Torbjörn Blomdahl vs. Eddy Merckx 34:50
Marco Zanetti vs. Roland Forthomme 47:50
Jeffrey Jorissen vs. Peter Ceulemans 50:40
Ruben Legazpi vs. Martin Horn 35:50
Preview:
Semifinals (local time):
11:00 – Eddy Merckx vs. Roland Forthomme
13:30 – Jeffrey Jorissen vs. Martin Horn
Final:
18:00
Photogalleries April 12th:
https://billard1.net/photos/2025/CEB/12-04-1/
https://billard1.net/photos/2025/CEB/12-04-2/
https://billard1.net/photos/2025/CEB/12-04-3/
https://billard1.net/photos/2025/CEB/12-04-4/
All results: https://www.eurobillard.org/events/ec3cind-479.html#matches
Livestream: https://tv.kozoom.com/en/event/39761
Press Release, April 11th, 2025 (Day 4)
EC Three Cushion National Teams and Individual | 8 - 13 April 2025
Four Seeded Players Stumble
As the final round of the 3-Cushion Individual European Championships in Ankara, Türkiye began, the first minor and major surprises emerged. In the round of the last 32, for example, fourth-seeded Nikos Polychronopoulos was already eliminated. The Greek lost to France’s Mikael Devogelaere 33:50 after thirty innings.
Team world champion Jean-Paul de Bruijn from the Netherlands also finds himself watching from the sidelines. The 11th seed never got into the game against Türkiye’s Yilmaz Özcan and, with an average below 1.0, fell far short of expectations. He was knocked out in the first round with a 37:50 loss.
Also eliminated were Rui Manuel Costa (Portugal, No. 16) and Glenn Hofman (No. 15). The Dutchman was defeated by Austria’s Arnim Kahofer. Although Hofman played the highest run of the day with twelve points, Kahofer countered impressively with a run of eleven.
The most remarkable performance of the day came from Martin Horn. The second-seeded German faced Czech player Martin Bohac, defeating him 50:21 in just 22 innings, achieving the best average of the day with 2.272.
Defending champion Torbjörn Blomdahl from Sweden established an early lead against Türkiye’s Burhan Genc and maintained it to a comfortable 50:32 victory. The veteran now faces Spanish qualifier Sergio Jimenez.
Former European Champion Marco Zanetti also left a strong impression. The Italian had no trouble defeating Spain’s Ruben Fernandez 50:18 after 28 innings, posting an average of 1.785.
One of the most interesting matches featured Dutchman Dick Jaspers against Konstantinos Kokkoris of Greece. For much of the match, the two were neck and neck, but in the final third, Jaspers used all his experience to secure a 50:41 win.
Former world champion Tayfun Tasdemir (Türkiye) also had more trouble than expected in his opening match. Only in the final stages was he able to slowly pull ahead of Denmark’s Brian Knudsen and secure a 50:44 victory.
Belgian player Eddy Merckx also had some very tense moments to endure. In his match against Frenchman Cedric Melnytschenko, everything was wide open until the final inning. Melnytschenko definitely had opportunities to pull off a major upset, but Merckx narrowly escaped after 36 innings and secured a somewhat fortunate 50:48 victory.
The round of 16 kicks off on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. local time, followed by the quarterfinals starting at 4:00 p.m. The new European Champion will be crowned on Sunday in the early evening.
Results:
Torbjörn Blomdahl – Burhan Genc 50:32
Rui Manuel Costa – Sergio Jimenez 32:50
Eddy Merckx – Cedric Melnytschenko 50:48
Jeremy Bury – Tolgahan Kiraz 50:35
Marco Zanetti – Ruben Fernandez 50:18
Berkay Karakurt – Adrien Tachoire 50:28
Roland Forthomme – Ronny Lindemann 50:37
Nikos Polychronopoulos – Mikael Devogelaere 33:50
Dick Jaspers – Konstantinos Kokkoris 50:41
Jeffrey Jorissen – Carlos Crespo 50:27
Jean-Paul de Bruijn – Yilmaz Özcan 37:50
Peter Ceulemans – Dimitrios Seleventas 50:28
Tayfun Tasdemir – Brian Knudsen 50:44
Ruben Legazpi – Amir Ibraimov 50:31
Glenn Hofman – Arnim Kahofer 43:50
Martin Horn – Martin Bohac 50:21
Round of 16 (Local time Ankara):
11:00 – Torbjörn Blomdahl vs. Sergio Jimenez
11:00 – Eddy Merckx vs. Jeremy Bury
11:00 – Marco Zanetti vs. Berkay Karakurt
11:00 – Roland Forthomme vs. Mikael Devogelaere
13:30 – Dick Jaspers vs. Jeffrey Jorissen
13:30 – Yilmaz Özcan vs. Peter Ceulemans
13:30 – Tayfun Tasdemir vs. Ruben Legazpi
13:30 – Arnim Kahofer vs. Martin Horn
Quarterfinals:
16:00 and 18:30
All results: https://www.eurobillard.org/events/ec3cind-479.html#matches
Photogalleries Last 32:
Opening ceremony: https://billard1.net/photos/2025/CEB/11-04-1-opening/
First session: https://billard1.net/photos/2025/CEB/11-04-2
Second session: https://billard1.net/photos/2025/CEB/11-04-3
Third session: https://billard1.net/photos/2025/CEB/11-04-4
Fourth session: https://billard1.net/photos/2025/CEB/11-04-5
Livestream: https://tv.kozoom.com/en/event/39761
Press Release, April 10th, 2025 (Day 3)
EC Three Cushion National Teams and Individual | 8 - 13 April 2025
All Qualifiers for the Final Round Determined
Today, the highly anticipated 3-Cushion Individual European Championship kicked off in Ankara, Türkiye, featuring a total of 64 participants. On Thursday, the players competed in sixteen groups of three in a round-robin format to determine the qualifiers for the final round, which begins on Friday. The 16 group winners will face off against 16 seeded players, including defending champion Torbjörn Blomdahl from Sweden.
Spaniard Sergio Jimenez was the leader of the qualification ranking, chased by the Austrian Arnim Kahofer. Another Spanish player, Carlos Crespo was third and Ronny Lindemann from Germany was fourth.
Some of the preliminary groups promised exciting matches, and the spectators both on-site and via livestream were not disappointed. In Group D, for instance, all three players won one match each, so the overall average had to decide the outcome. Burhan Genc from Türkiye came out on top and secured a spot in the Top 32 final round. Group E also had a dramatic outcome. Konstantinos Kokkoris (Greece) and Nalle Olsson (Sweden) drew against each other and both defeated Timo Hjort (Finland). The newly crowned team vice-European champion Kokkoris had the higher average and advanced.
Martin Bohac (Czech Republic), Tom Löwe from Germany, and Greek player Kostas Papakonstantinou each had one win and one loss in group L, all averaging over 1.0. Ultimately, it was Bohac who managed to edge ahead and earn his spot in the final round.
Two of the most promising young talents also made it to the last 32 KO stage: Dimitrios Seleventas (Greece) and Amir Ibraimov (Germany) respectively winners in group M and K.
Some of the more prominent names who did not make the cut for the final round include Denizcan Akkoca, Seymen Ozbas, Ufuk Kapisiz (all from Türkiye), David Pennör (Sweden), Kostas Papakonstantinou (Greece), Maxime Panaia (France), Jean van Erp and Barry van Beers (Netherlands), Alessio D’Agata (Italy).
The highest run of the day came from Frenchman Mikael Devogelaere with twelve points. The best average in a single match was achieved by Sergio Jimenez (Spain) and Arnim Kahofer (Austria) both with 1.818. The Spaniard also had the highest overall average of the day at 1.739.
All Qualifiers by qualifications ranking:
Sergio Jimenez – Spain
Arnim Kahofer – Austria
Carlos Crespo – Spain
Ronny Lindemann – Germany
Adrien Tachoire – France
Yilmaz Özcan – Türkiye
Amir Ibraimov – Germany
Cedric Melnytschenko – France
Tolgahan Kiraz – Türkiye
Brian Knudsen – Denmark
Dimitrios Seleventas – Greece
Ruben Fernandez – Spain
Mikael Devogelaere – France
Konstantinos Kokkoris – Greece
Martin Bohac – Czech Republic
Burhan Genc – Türkiye
Last 32 Draw:
Torbjörn Blomdahl – Burhan Genc
Rui Manuel Costa – Sergio Jimenez
Eddy Merckx – Cedric Melnytschenko
Jeremy Bury – Tolgahan Kiraz
Marco Zanetti – Ruben Fernandez
Berkay Karakurt – Adrien Tachoire
Roland Forthomme – Ronny Lindemann
Nikos Polychronopoulos – Mikael Devolgeare
Dick Jaspers – Kostantinos Kokkoris
Jeffrey Jorissen – Carlos Crespo
Jean-Paul de Beuijn – Yilmaz Özcan
Peter Ceulemans – Dimitrios Seleventas
Tayfun Tasdemir – Brian Knudsen
Ruben Legazpi – Amir Ibraimov
Glenn Hofmann – Arnim Kahofer
Martin Horn – Martin Bohac
All Results here.
Photogalleries April 10th:
First round: https://billard1.net/photos/2025/CEB/10-04-1/
Second round: https://billard1.net/photos/2025/CEB/10-04-2/
Third round: https://billard1.net/photos/2025/CEB/10-04-3/
Fourth round: https://billard1.net/photos/2025/CEB/10-04-4/
Fifth round: https://billard1.net/photos/2025/CEB/10-04-5/
Sixth round: https://billard1.net/photos/2025/CEB/10-04-6/
Results & Further Information:
Pictures & Social Media:
During the event, new photos will be published several times daily on our social media channels. In the evening, they will be available in compact and organized galleries on the CEB website.
All games are played on Simonis cloth with Aramith billiard balls.
Follow the event live on Kozoom.
If you have any questions regarding the event, please feel free to contact us via email.
CEB Press Office
Organizer:
Confédération Européenne de Billard
Host:
Turkish Billiards Federation
Venue:
Gölbaşı International Billiards Complex, Ankara
Media Contact:
Email: media@eurobillard.org
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