Billiards: Genius Caudron wins spectacularly in Europe, sets 'huge' record

Consecutively defeated the current world number 1

July 13 in Porto - Portugal (early morning of July 14, Vietnam time) marked the final day of competition at the 2025 3-cushion carom billiards European Club Cup. Team Soissons (France) won the championship after defeating FC Porto with a score of 6-2 in the final match. Notably, Frederic Caudron won overwhelmingly with a score of 40-11 against the reigning world number 1 Dick Jaspers (Netherlands), after only 8 rounds (averaging 5 points/round).

In the past 10 days, Caudron has won 3 consecutive times against Jaspers. In the round of 32 of the Porto Billiards World Cup 2025 which took place on July 4, the player nicknamed the genius defeated the Dutch athlete with a score of 40-35. And in the European Club Cup of 3-cushion billiards that just ended, Caudron won 2 times against Jaspers. Before the rematch in the final, Caudron won against Jaspers 40-30.

PHOTO: TB

With this championship, Frederic Caudron has won the European Club Cup for 3-cushion carom billiards 13 times. This is also a world record created by the Belgian player. Accordingly, Caudron has won the championship 13 times, in the colors of 6 different clubs: the first time with Crystal Kelly in 2003, then 8 times with Agipi since 2005, with Dallinga (2014), Gaziantespor (2015), BC Baulois (2018) and now Soissons. Caudron's number of championships is superior to that of his seniors such as Marco Zanetti (12 times), Torbjorn Blomdahl (9) and Dick Jaspers (5).

Caudron's teammates at Soissons lifted the 2025 European Club Cup carom billiards 3-cushion: Jeremy Bury, Soumagne, Devogelaere and Vasseur.

Can't get back to the top at UMB

Before joining the Korean Professional Billiards Association (PBA) in 2019, Frederic Caudron was one of the most successful players in the International Carom Billiards Union (UMB). The Belgian player has 21 World Cup titles (second only to Torbjorn Blomdahl and Dick Jaspers) and 3 World Championship titles.

However, since leaving PBA to return to UMB, Frederic Caudron has yet to reach the top. The player nicknamed "genius" chose the Ho Chi Minh City World Cup (May 2024) as the milestone for his comeback. More than a year has passed since returning to his "old home", but Caudron has yet to reach the highest podium at the World Cup billiards playground.

PHOTO: SCREENSHOT

The Belgian genius was very close to winning the championship for the first time, when he reached the final of the Veghel - Netherlands Billiards World Cup in October 2025. But against Vietnam's number 1 player Tran Quyet Chien, Caudron was defeated with a score of 38-50 and only finished as runner-up. At the most recent Billiards World Cup in Porto in early July, Caudron reached the quarter-finals and was shockingly eliminated by "dark horse" Gokhan Salman (Türkiye).

Frederic Caudron has made a rapid breakthrough in the world rankings. After more than a year since leaving PBA to return to UMB, the Belgian genius has returned to the top. Currently, Caudron has 187 points and is ranked 13th. With this position, Caudron will not have to compete in the qualifying round, but will be given a special place in the main round (32) of the next World Cup billiards stages.