Nobuaki Kobayashi

Nobuaki Kobayashi (小林 伸明, Kobayashi Nobuaki, March 26, 1942 – 25 November 2019) was a Japanese professional three-cushion billiards player and 2-time world champion. After placing 2nd to Belgium's Raymond Ceulemans three times (1970, 1972 and 1973) in the UMB World Three-cushion Championship, Kobayashi turned things around and defeated Ceulemans for the world title in 1974. With this win, he ended Ceulemans' 10-year reign as champion. Kobayashi later admitted that he had been taping on camera Ceulemans' performances in a 1969 tournament in Tokyo in order to study the Belgian's playing style.

Nobuaki Kobayashi

Nobuaki Kobayashi (小林 伸明, Kobayashi Nobuaki, March 26, 1942 – 25 November 2019) was a Japanese professional three-cushion billiards player and 2-time world champion. After placing 2nd to Belgium's Raymond Ceulemans three times (1970, 1972 and 1973) in the UMB World Three-cushion Championship, Kobayashi turned things around and defeated Ceulemans for the world title in 1974. With this win, he ended Ceulemans' 10-year reign as champion. Kobayashi later admitted that he had been taping on camera Ceulemans' performances in a 1969 tournament in Tokyo in order to study the Belgian's playing style.