Billiards Career

Early Years

Semih Saygıner was born in Sakarya on November 12, 1964. He was introduced to billiards in 1981, when he was just 16 years old. Saygıner, who went to a billiards hall for the first time with a friend's recommendation, drew attention with his natural talent. According to his own account, the moment he first held a cue stick, those around him thought he had played billiards before. However, Saygıner stated that he played correctly by instinct, influenced by an image that remained in his memory from a photograph of a billiards champion he saw in Hürriyet Newspaper during his childhood.

At the age of 17, he participated in the Istanbul Championship at the suggestion of his friend Tezcan Şen and won first place. In 1987, he won his first Turkish Championship. In 1991, he achieved significant results in the German Open in Germany and the Efes Pilsen Grand Prix tournaments in Istanbul. In 1992, he drew attention by defeating legendary billiards player Raymond Ceulemans 3-0 in a tournament held in Berlin, rising to eighth place in the world rankings.

^{Semih Saygıner - AA}

International Career

Saygıner, who transferred to the Dutch Team League in 1994, successfully represented Turkish sports in this league. In 1998, he became world champion by defeating his Dutch opponent Cerwin Walentijn at the World Billiards Championship held in Antalya. In 2003, he represented Turkey with Tayfun Taşdemir at the World Team Championship held in Mönchengladbach, Germany, and won the championship. In the same year, he also won first place in the European 3-Cushion Championship.

Major Achievements and Awards

• 1994 World Cup champion (Ghent-Belgium)
• 1994 Olympic torch award (Istanbul-Turkey)
• 1994 World Cup series third place (6 legs)
• 1995 Korea Open 3-cushion tournament champion (Suwon-Korea)
• 1995 Mersin international tournament champion (Mersin-Turkey)
• 1996 Mersin international tournament champion (Mersin-Turkey)
• 1998 World Cup champion (Göynük-Turkey)
• 1998 World Cup runner-up (Antwerp-Belgium)
• 1998 Netherlands international tournament champion (Zundert-Netherlands)
• 1999 World Cup runner-up (Las Vegas-USA)
• 1999 America Open 3-cushion tournament champion (San Jose-USA)
• 1999 Netherlands Grand Prix champion (Barendrecht-Netherlands)
• 1999 European champion (Porto-Portugal)
• 2000 World Cup series (5 legs) 2nd place
• 2000 Denmark Open 3-cushion tournament champion (Denmark)
• 2000 America Open 3-cushion tournament champion (Boston-USA)
• 2000 America Open 3-cushion tournament champion (Atlanta-USA)
• 2000 Mexico Open 3-cushion tournament champion (Mexico City-Mexico)
• 2000 Metropol Diamond Cup champion (Antwerp-Belgium)
• 2000 European Championship 2nd place (Madrid-Spain)
• 2000 World Cup champion (Bogota-Colombia)
• 2000 Greece Open 3-cushion tournament champion (Athens-Greece)
• 2000 Japan Cup champion (Tokyo-Japan)
• 2001 World Cup champion (Bogota-Colombia)
• 2001 Metropol Diamond Cup champion (Antwerp-Belgium)
• 2002 European Clubs champion (with Dutch League Vanwanrooij billiards team) (Oporto-Portugal)
• 2002 Japan Cup champion (Tokyo-Japan)
• 2003 World Cup champion (Las Vegas-USA)
• 2003 World champion (Valladolid-Spain)
• 2003 National Teams World champion (with Tayfun Taşdemir) (Germany)
• 2004 National Teams World champion (with Tayfun Taşdemir) (Viersen-Germany)
• 2004 World Cup champion (Athens-Greece)
• 2004 World Cup series (5 legs) 2nd place
• 2004 World Player of the Year award (Antwerp-Belgium)
• 2004 Super Cup champion (Antwerp-Belgium)
• 2004 Milliyet newspaper special athlete of the year award (Istanbul-Turkey)
• 2005 European Clubs Championship Bronze medalist (with Portuguese league FCPorto team) (France)
• 2005 World Games Bronze Medalist (Duisburg-Germany)
• 2006 European Championship Silver medalist
• 2006 European Clubs Championship 2nd place
• 2016 National Teams World Championship runner-up (with Lütfi Çenet)
• 2016 World 3-Cushion Billiards Championship 3rd place (Bordeaux-France)
• 2018 World National Teams 3rd place (Viersen-Germany)
• 2018 World Cup 3rd place (France)
• 2018 World Cup 2nd place (Belgium)
• 2018 World Championship 3rd place (Egypt)
• 2021: World Cup Champion (first championship after his career break)
• 2023: World Team Champion (with Tayfun Taşdemir)
• 2025: PBA World Champion

Awards and Honors

• Athlete of the Year Awards
• Turkish National Olympic Committee Honor Award
• TBF Honor and Service Certificates
• Belgium Super Cup Champion (2004)
• “Player of the Year” by the World Billiards Federation (UMB) (2004)
• Nicknames “Mr. Magic” and “The Turkish Prince” in the international billiards community