Where to Watch Three-Cushion Billiards — Streaming Guide

Three-cushion carom billiards is one of the world's most-watched cue sports at the competitive level — the PBA Tour alone runs 15+ televised events per year in South Korea — yet most international fans struggle to find reliable streaming. This guide compiles every platform, subscription tier, and free channel available in 2026, organised by region and event type.

Kozoom — the global three-cushion broadcaster

Kozoom (tv.kozoom.com) is the primary international broadcaster for UMB-sanctioned events: World Cups, World Championships, and European Championships. It operates a freemium model:

• Free tier: Delayed replays of selected matches, typically available 24–48 hours after live play. Coverage is not guaranteed for every match — semi-finals and finals are more reliably available than preliminary rounds.
• Gold subscription: Live streaming of all broadcast UMB events, full replay library, HD quality. Annual and monthly plans available. This is the only reliable way to watch World Cup group rounds and early-round World Championship matches live from outside the host country.
• Coverage: World Cup events (typically 5–8 per year), World Championship (annual), European Championship, and select national opens. The UMB World Cup schedule for 2026 includes Turkey as host (bilardo.gov.tr), among other venues.

Kozoom has been the de facto home of international three-cushion streaming since the mid-2000s. No alternative platform provides equivalent UMB coverage.

PBA Tour — Korean three-cushion broadcasting (SOOP/AfreecaTV)

The Professional Billiards Association of Korea (PBA) runs its own extensive broadcast operation. Korean three-cushion is televised more thoroughly than any other national circuit:

• SOOP (formerly AfreecaTV): The PBA's primary live streaming partner for Korean-language content. Most PBA Tour events stream live on SOOP. Free to watch without a SOOP subscription; some features (chat interaction, replays) require a free account. SOOP content is geo-unrestricted — accessible worldwide.
• PBA YouTube channel: youtube.com/@PBAtour — official channel with match highlights, top-10 shots, player profiles and some full matches. Free, no subscription. Quality and depth of coverage has increased since 2022. Recommended for international fans who want PBA content without committing to SOOP.
• TV cable (Korea only): PBA matches air on J Sports, Billiard TV, and other cable channels in South Korea. Not available via international cable packages without a Korean IP or subscription to a Korean OTT service.
• PBA website (pbatour.org): Schedule, standings, and sometimes embedded live streams for flagship events. English-language interface available at pbatour.org/en.

The PBA format differs meaningfully from UMB — sets-based, shot clock, bank bonus — so understanding the rules makes watching more rewarding. See the PBA vs UMB comparison for the rules breakdown.

UMB YouTube and social media

The Union Mondiale de Billard (UMB) operates its own YouTube channel with a growing library of tournament content:

• YouTube: Highlights from major UMB events — World Cup and Championship finals, top-shot compilations, player features. Free. Not a replacement for Kozoom for live coverage, but a good entry point for casual viewers. Search UMB Billiard on YouTube.
• Facebook/Instagram: UMB and its national federation partners (Turkish TBF, German DBU, etc.) post match clips and results on social platforms — useful for brief highlights without a subscription.
• National federation YouTube channels: TBF (Turkey), DBU (Germany), KNBB (Netherlands), FFB (France), and VBSF (Vietnam) each maintain YouTube channels with national-league content in their home language. Quality and upload frequency vary.

Regional and national platforms

Several countries have dedicated broadcast infrastructure for their domestic leagues:

• Turkey: TBF (Turkish Billiard Federation) events are occasionally broadcast on TRT Sports and regional cable channels. TBF's YouTube channel publishes championship footage. The 2026 UMB World Cup Turkey leg is scheduled for broader coverage.
• Vietnam (HBSF/VBTL): Vietnamese national tournaments (HBSF-1 Cup, VBTL league rounds) stream on HBSF's YouTube channel and occasionally on VTVcab Sport and thethao247.vn. Vietnamese three-cushion has significant domestic audience — some provincial championship matches stream live on Facebook. For the Vietnamese national structure, see the national ranking ladders guide.
• Germany (DBU/GD-VGD): German Bundesliga billiards is covered on the DBU YouTube channel and sometimes broadcast on regional ARD/ZDF third channels. Coverage is inconsistent at the club level; major national championship rounds have better digital availability.
• Netherlands (KNBB): KNBB National Championship rounds are occasionally live-streamed on KNBB's YouTube channel. Dutch-language commentary; international fans can follow without commentary difficulty given the visual clarity of the game.
• Belgium: Belgian federation (FBF/BFB) championship content occasionally appears on YouTube. Belgium produces some of the world's top players (Ceulemans, Caudron, Blomdahl-era opponents); historical match footage is available through Kozoom archives.

Free options summary

If you want to start watching without any subscription:

1. PBA highlights — YouTube @PBAtour. Updated regularly, Korean and English subtitles on some videos. Best option for beginners who want to see competitive three-cushion immediately.
2. UMB highlights — YouTube UMB Billiard. Includes World Cup final footage and player interviews.
3. SOOP live streams — Most PBA events stream free on SOOP without an account. Go to soop.tv and search PBA billiards.
4. Kozoom free tier — Delayed replays of selected UMB matches. Register for a free account at tv.kozoom.com.
5. National federation YouTube channels — TBF, DBU, KNBB, HBSF for domestic tournament content in your language.

After watching a few matches, the 3ball.app simulator lets you attempt the positions you see in professional play — load any position with the Position Library and try to solve it the way the pros do. Understanding the physics firsthand makes match viewing significantly richer.

Finding the schedule

Three-cushion events are not listed on mainstream sports aggregators. Use these primary sources:

• UMB official calendar: umb-billard.com — authoritative for World Cup and Championship dates, hosts, and qualification paths.
• PBA schedule: pbatour.org/en — lists all PBA Tour events for the season with approximate dates. Individual event pages confirm the streaming platform.
• Kozoom event calendar: tv.kozoom.com/en/schedule — shows upcoming UMB events scheduled for broadcast.
• Three-cushion fan communities: r/billiards (Reddit), AzBilliards forums, and Kozoom discussion threads typically announce event start times 48–72 hours in advance. Korean fans use dcinside billiards gallery for PBA event scheduling.

To understand the tournament structure you are watching, see the tournament formats guide — it explains innings, shot clocks, equalisation innings, and how UMB vs PBA format differences change what you observe in match play.