After a heartbreaker in New Zealand at the WCF U21 Worlds Final in 2023, Egypt’s Fawzy Helmy has worked through the field at the 2025 event for a repeat appearance against Levi Franks of New Zealand. Hosted by the USCA, the event has played out over the week at the Sarasota County Croquet Club in Venice, Florida, with a strong field of 28 players under the age of 21 entertaining the world through the daily livestreams from the official USCA YouTube channel.

Yesterday was a full day that featured best-of-three matchups in the morning quarterfinal round, with all of those matches ending in two games and all top seeds advancing. The best of five semifinals in the afternoon provided the two marquee matchups, including USA’s Blake Fields squaring off against Helmy and Franks battling the event’s top seed, Jack Good from England.

Fields was looking to claim a third straight world title after his overall GC World Championship in October, which was followed by playing for Team USA as they claimed the Openshaw Shield GCWTC in February. Helmy got off to a good start with a pair of 7-4 wins to move out to 2-0. Fields started to come into form in game three as he answered with a 7-4 result. But Helmy stayed steady and came back in game four for a 7-4 win to take the match 3-1.

Meanwhile, the Franks and Good match was a full game behind in the action. Franks took game one 7-5, before racking a up a 7-2 win in game two. Good responded with a 7-5 win and the match headed into game four into the early evening. Fatigue seemed to set in for both players as the epic game saw both brilliant shots and unexpected hoop failures for both players. The game extended into a marathon battle that eventually got to the hook. Franks won the hoop as daylight was nearly over, which avoided the potential game five dilemma of going under the lights on a new court or delaying until morning.

Today’s matchup between Helmy (#16) and Franks (#45) will be held on Court 7 and players are reporting to the court at 9:00 a.m., Eastern.

EVENT INFO

Today’s Livestream: USCA YouTube Channel
Main Knockout | Levi Franks (NZL) vs Fawzy Helmy (EGY)
Bowl Knockout | Jessica Bullen (NZL) vs Jana Mohamed Saaid (EGY)
Shield Knockout | Sam Cuthbert (ENG) vs Ethan Gumbrell (AUS)