Merckx Takes Third 3‑Cushion World Title 14 Years After Last

Eddy Merckx captured his third UMB World Three-Cushion Championship title in Blois, France, defeating Vietnam's Phuong Vinh Bao 50–39 in 19 innings. The victory arrived 14 years after his previous world crown in Porto in 2012.

Clinging on under pressure

The final went neck and neck for a long time. Merckx uncorked a run of 15, yet Bao refused to loosen his grip and stayed within reach at 41–39.

What followed separated a champion from a contender.

An unflappable freight train

A Korean spectator offered a blunt assessment. "It's like watching the Terminator," they remarked. "Merckx on a mission is like a freight train coming at you."

He makes precious few mistakes, pierces through your defence and looks mentally unflappable while doing it. That quality was on display all week in Blois.

A path through champions

He then edged Sameh Sidhom 50–48 in a high‑standard match decided by an unforced error late in the contest.

Across the tournament, no one matched his consistency. Merckx recorded the best general average at 1.993, nearly four tenths above the main tournament figure of 1.556.

Four decades, three titles

The win at 58 years old gives Merckx a third world title alongside 2006 in St. Wendel and 2012 in Porto. His record in world championship finals now stands at three wins against three defeats, while his World Cup final record reads 14 played, 12 won.

The Belgian also prolonged a statistical oddity: the defending champion still cannot win the following year's edition, a streak now four decades long.

The third crown writes another line in a career that already shares its name with a cycling legend — and now demands its own separate renown.