Tran Quyet Chien, Tran Duc Minh, and Nguyen Chi Long have advanced to the knockout stages of the 3-Cushion Billiards World Cup, while Bao Phuong Vinh was eliminated in the group stage. The competition, taking place in Ho Chi Minh City, has seen a strong showing from the Vietnamese players, with only South Korea having more players in the Round of 16.
Quyet Chien, currently ranked second in the world and the defending World Cup champion, started his campaign with a smooth 40-32 victory over Hong Thai in 20 innings. He continued his form by defeating Kim Dong-ryong 40-34 in 21 innings, securing a place in the knockout stage a match early. Despite losing to Glenn Hofman in the final group match, Quyet Chien topped Group B, while Hong Thai was eliminated.
Duc Minh impressed by defeating former world number one Kim Haeng-jik 40-9 in just 19 innings in his opening match. Although he narrowly lost to Berkay Karakurt 39-40 in his second match, he bounced back to beat former world champion Tayfun Tasdemir 40-28 in 20 innings, finishing second in Group G. Ranked 250th in the world, Duc Minh had to start from the second qualifying round but made it through four rounds to reach the knockout stage.
Nguyen Chi Long’s performance was even more remarkable. Starting from the first qualifying round, he won all eight of his matches to enter the group stage. Despite losing to Cha Myeong-jong 33-40 in 30 innings, he defeated Torbjorn Blomdahl 40-31 in 25 innings and Sam van Etten 40-26 in 22 innings to top Group D. Chi Long, ranked 525th due to limited international play, showed his potential with his undefeated run to the knockout stage.
Bao Phuong Vinh, ranked 12th in the world, started well with a 40-13 win over Chi Thanh in 18 innings and a 40-40 draw with Ruben Legazpi in 25 innings. However, a heavy 10-40 defeat to Eddy Merckx in 17 innings saw him finish third in Group E, leading to his elimination.
The Round of 16 will feature three Vietnamese players, four from South Korea (Kim Jun-tae, Dong-ryong, Cho Myung-woo, Myeong-jong), three from Turkey (Burak Hashas, Tolgahan Kiraz, Karakurt), two from Belgium (Merckx, Frederic Caudron), and representatives from Greece (Nikos Polychronopoulos), Italy (Marco Zanetti), Spain (Ruben Legazpi), and the Netherlands (Dick Jaspers).
Today, May 25, Chi Long will face two-time world champion Merckx at 12 PM, while Quyet Chien will take on compatriot Duc Minh at 2:30 PM. The quarterfinals will also take place today, with matches played to 50 points.
The 3-Cushion Billiards World Cup, held six to seven times a year, is one of three global tournaments organized by the UMB, alongside the World Championship for individuals and teams. Vietnam currently holds all three titles, thanks to Quyet Chien and Phuong Vinh. If Quyet Chien performs better than Myung-woo in this event, he will ascend to the world number one ranking. The Ho Chi Minh City event runs from May 20 to May 26.
Leave a Reply