Bao Phuong Vinh lost to Tran Quyet Chien's student
Le Van Thai was born in 1995, from Dak Lak and is a student of player Tran Quyet Chien. He has only learned to play billiard for two years at Quyet Chien's club.
Against an opponent who had just been crowned world champion, Le Van Thai still played calmly, continuously launching series to lead 25-10 after 12 shots in the first half.
In the second half, Bao Phuong Vinh rose strongly, including a series of six points to shorten the gap to 24-27 before leveling the score at 30-30. From this point on, the two players put the match into a tense situation. While leading 43-39, Van Thai calmly made a pass to score seven points to win 50-39 after 29 shots.
Bao Phong Vinh stopped, missing the "dream final" match with Tran Quyet Chien - who overwhelmingly defeated Dinh Quang Hai with a score of 50-28 after 22 chances in the semi-finals. At the world championship final in Türkiye last week, Phuong Vinh unexpectedly defeated Quyet Chien to win the tournament for the first time.
In the final match with his teacher, Le Van Thai entered the match with a shot and scored eight points to soon lead 15-5 and then 20-10. Then, with a three-pointer, he sent the game into halftime with a 27-13 advantage.
In the second half, Van Thai continued to widen the gap to 31-16. But in the 20th round, Quyet Chien had a chance to score 15 points to reverse the situation, leading his students 38-35. After a tense period, Quyet Chien jumped to a 49-42 lead thanks to a seven-point series. Vietnam's number one player scored the decisive score to win 50-42 after 26 rounds.
For this championship, Tran Quyet Chien received 50 million VND. Le Van Thai received 20 million VND, while Bao Phuong Vinh and Dinh Quang Hai won third place and received 10 million VND.
Bao Phuong Vinh won the "Best Game" award with a performance of 4,286 points/turn. The "Excellent Series" award went to player Vo Chi Hung with an 18-point shot.
Eight outstanding players of the tournament will win spots to attend the final tournament taking place from December 18 to 25. The tournament brings together the best players in Vietnam and a group of quality international players.
