Men’s Trios Semifinalists Set at the IBF World Championships 2025

Today, the IBF World Championships 2025 in Hong Kong continued with a men's trios event and it delivered one of the most dramatic qualification of the event so far.

A total of 56 trios completed seven games across two squads to determine which 16 teams would advance to Round 2, and the battle around the cut line came down to a single pin, with both Macau and Hong Kong narrowly missing out.

Korea’s Trio set the tone early and never let go of the lead. Ji Geun, Kim Jun Yung and Baek Seung Min produced a strong, consistent block for a leading total of 1647.

Finland’s Trio - Tomas Käyhkö, Luukas Väänänen and Niko Oksanen - followed in second with 1627 after a solid showing in Squad 2. Denmark's Dan A. Østergaard, Niclas Sørensen and Nicolas Carter secured third place with 1564, followed closely by another Denmark's Trio Carsten W. Hansen, Mathias Ankderdal and Tim Stampe and USA Trio Patrick Hanrahan, Andrew Anderson and Ryan Barnes with identical 1556 totals.

At the edge of the field, Sweden’s James Blomgren, Joachim Karlsson and Pontus Andersson claimed the final advancing position in 16th place with 1473, leaving Macau and Hong Kong just one pin behind on 1472.

Drama in Round 2 Match Play

Round 2 placed the top 16 trios into two groups of eight, with seven round-robin games and match-play points determining which teams would reach the semi-finals.

Group A saw Korea’s Ji Geun, Kim Jun Yung and Baek Seung Min continue their dominant run as they finished first with 5 wins and 1 draw over 7 games to earn 16 points.

The second place for the semifinals came only after a dramatic three-way roll-off between Sweden, Malaysia and France.

France’s trio produced one of the biggest storylines of the day by shooting a perfect 300 game and opening their block with four straight wins, but three consecutive losses pulled them into the roll-off. Despite their strong start, they were unable to recover, and their roll-off score was not enough to keep their championship hopes alive.

Sweden posted 243 in the roll-off to advance, while Malaysia followed with 209 and France with 168.

Group B produced a second roll-off, this time against Australia, Denmark and Finland. Australia’s trio of Julian Dinham, Luke Doyle and Blake Walsh delivered a 227 to earn their place in the semi-finals, while Denmark's Dan A. Østergaard, Niclas Sørensen and Nicolas Carter advanced with a 212. Finland’s 175 placed them third in the roll-off and outside the advancing positions.

In the semifinals Korea will face Sweden, meanwhile Denmark will stand against Australia.

The Men’s Trios Semi-finals and Finals will be held on Thursday at Queen Elizabeth Stadium in WanChai, alongside the Team of Five rounds that will continue on Friday.

With the men’s field now finalized, attention turns to tomorrow’s Women’s Trios qualification, where another competitive lineup will take the lanes in Hong Kong.

A full schedule and all results from the IBF World Championships 2025 are available at tournaments.bowlinglife.eu.