Sang Lee

Sang Chun Lee (Korean: 이상천; January 15, 1954 – October 19, 2004), most commonly known simply as Sang Lee, was a Korean-born American professional three-cushion billiards player and world champion.

Sang Lee

Medal record
Men's three-cushion billiards
Representing the  United States
UMB World Championship
Gold medal – first place 1993 Gent Three-cushion
USBA National Championship
Gold medal – first place 1990 Three-cushion
Gold medal – first place 1991 Three-cushion
Gold medal – first place 1992 Three-cushion
Gold medal – first place 1993 Three-cushion
Gold medal – first place 1994 Three-cushion
Gold medal – first place 1995 Three-cushion
Gold medal – first place 1996 Three-cushion
Gold medal – first place 1997 Three-cushion
Gold medal – first place 1998 Three-cushion
Gold medal – first place 1999 Three-cushion
Gold medal – first place 2000 Three-cushion
Gold medal – first place 2001 Three-cushion
World Games
Bronze medal – third place 2001 Akita Individual
Asian Games
Silver medal – second place 2002 Busan Individual

Professional career

Born and raised in South Korea, Lee moved to New York City, United States, in 1987, at age 33.

Dubbed the "Michael Jordan of three-cushion billiards"[1] at the time of his arrival in the United States, Lee already had eight Korean national titles under his belt. Lee promptly went on to dominate three cushion billiards in the US, winning a record twelve consecutive USBA National Three-Cushion Championship, from 1990 to 2001.

Lee became the UMB World Three-cushion Championship in 1993.

in 1999 he was ranked number 11 among the Billiards Digest "50 Greatest Players of the Century" and ranked 5th "Greatest Living Player of the Century"

At the 2002 USBA National Three-Cushion Championship, his impressive run came to an end when he was defeated by Pedro Piedrabuena in the finals. Aptly, Piedrabuena received his early training in billiards from none other than Lee. The same year, Lee finished 2nd in Three-cushion event of the Asian Games where he was bested by Deuk-Hee Hwang, another Korean cue artist.

As a player, Lee's ambition was "making billiards beautiful in America",[2] – restoring the recognition and competitive level of three-cushion in that part of the world – but he did not live to fulfill it, as he died in 2004 due to stomach cancer.

On May 15, 2007, Lee was inducted into the BCA Hall of Fame.[3]

Sang Lee International Open

Each year after Lee's death, a tournament featuring many of the world's best three-cushion players, known as the Sang Lee International Open, has been hosted at Carom Café in Flushing, Queens, New York, the billiard hall Lee was a co-owner of at the time of his death.[4] 2012 it has been renamed to Verhoeven Open.

References
  1. "Ideas & Trends; They're Sort of Like Mike", by Caitlin Lovinger, New York Times (online edition), January 17, 1999. Accessed December 30, 2006.
  2. Carom Tournament Press
  3. "BCA Hall of Fame 2007 — 51st Inductee: Sang Chun Lee" Archived February 2, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, Billiard Congress of America, Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States; accessed March 2, 2007
  4. "Billiards' Best Spin Doctors Vie in a Three-Cushion Zone" Archived June 9, 2012, at the Wayback Machine by Corey Kilgannon, New York Times (online edition), August 18, 2006. Accessed December 30, 2006.
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