The three- cushion world cup 1997/4 was the fourth UMB world cup tournament in the twelfth year of the three-cushion world cup. The tournament took place from 8 to 11 May 1997 in this discipline of carom billiards in Hooglede . It was the third three-cushion World Cup tournament in Hooglede.
For the second time within three months, Martin Horn was able to reach a World Cup final. After his defeat against Yilmaz Özcan in Salsomaggiore Terme, it was only enough for second place. Against Eddy Merckx , who played his first World Cup final, Horn had no chance in the final. Merckx played their tournament best and clearly won 3-0 sets. Martin Horn only dealt with Belgians in this tournament. After four wins he failed with Eddy Merckx on the fifth Belgian.
The exact price money could not be determined from the documents.
Tournament mode
In the qualifying round in groups, two sets of 15 points each are played in round robin mode. The group winners qualify for the 1/16 finals. There are also 16 seeded players. From the main competition (1/16 final), all games are played on three sets of 15 points each. Third place has not been played since the 1996/97 season. This means that there is no game for third place and there are two third-placed players.
In the event of a tie, the following order will be applied:
The three-cushion World Cup was organized by the founding association, the " Billiards Worldcup Association " (BWA) until 1998 . Disputes between the BWA and the world association Union Mondiale de Billard (UMB) led to parallel tournaments between 1994 and 1997. The UMB / BWA organized the tournament together until the beginning of 1999. Since the dissolution of the BWA in 1999, the UMB has been the sole organizer. From 1988-1991 the UMB did not host any world championships. During this time, the annual overall winner of the World Cup was crowned world champion.