Quoc Hoang first entered the round of 16 of the world 10 ball pool tournament
After winning Roland Garcia 8-3 in the third round, losing on the morning of March 3, Hanoi time (2/3 Las Vegas time), Quoc Hoang competed for tickets to the knockout round with Kurabayashi. Through the first three games, Quoc Hoang led 2-1, but since then, the Japanese player has won six games to lead 7-2, just one game away from winning.
The turning point came in game 10, when Kurabayashi ran the ball in a difficult position, but Quoc Hoang jumped to put the 1 ball down the hole, inspired to clear the table and score. In the next game, the number one player in Vietnam broke the ball, cleared the table and shortened the score to 4-7.
In game 12, Quoc Hoang again had to jump the ball, but this time it was unsuccessful, creating an opportunity for Kurabayashi to finish the match. However, when hitting ball 7 straight into the corner hole, the Japanese player tried to pull the ball, but the contact point between the head and the ball was too low, causing the white ball to jump on the table and miss the 7 ball.
Quoc Hoang cleared in the next two games to equalize the score 7-7. In the deciding game, Kurabayashi hit two tapes to bring the 2nd ball to the corner hole, but was somewhat unlucky when the cue ball fell to hole 10. The Japanese player was depressed, so the remaining marbles were not strong enough to make it difficult for Quoc. King.
Winning 8-7 helps Quoc Hoang enter the round of 16, guaranteed to leave with a bonus of at least $ 2,000. In the history of the tournament, only two Vietnamese players have won prizes, namely Nguyen Anh Tuan in 2009 and Luong Chi Dung in 2011.
Quoc Hoang will meet 23-year-old Russian talent Fedor Gorst in the round of 16 at 2:00 on Saturday, March 4, Hanoi time. If they win, the Vietnamese player will meet Jan van Lierop or Naoyuki Oi in the 1/8 round at 5am. The quarter-finals will be played at 8:30 a.m.
Gorst has won dozens of international titles in his career, such as the world 9 ball pool in 2019, or 10 balls US Open 2022. The Russian player is ranked 27th in the world, and Quoc Hoang is in 62nd place.
The 2023 world 10 ball pool tournament will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA from February 28 to March 4, bringing together 128 invited players. After the first phase of a double physical match, the tournament entered the knockout round with 32 players, whoever wins 10 games first will move on. The winner of one game will break the ball in the next game, the referee sets the frame and the player must not touch the ball. The prize fund of the prize is 250,000 USD, of which 60,000 USD goes to the champion.
