Three-Cushion Billiards

Pocketless cue sport where the cue ball must hit at least three cushions before touching the second object ball.

👥1 per team🌤indoor

What is Three-Cushion Billiards?

Three-cushion billiards (or three-cushion carom) is played on a pocketless table with three balls. To score, the shooter's cue ball must strike three or more cushions before contacting the second object ball. It is enormously popular in Belgium, Türkiye, South Korea and Vietnam, with a well-established world championship since 1928.

Quick facts

Category

Precision Sports

Type

Individual

Players

1 per team

Where played

indoor

Country of origin

🇫🇷 France

Estimated origin

Late 19th century France; World Championship since 1928

Olympic

No

Popularity

major

Sources & provenance

Last verified 2026-08-20.verified