Two Vietnamese players entered the world billiard final
In the 95-year history of the 3-cushion carom world billiard championship, there have only been three times that the final took place within two players of one country, that is Argentina in 1938, Belgium 2017 and this time in Vietnam. If Quyet Chien eliminated defending champion Tayfun Tasdemir with a score of 50-47, Phuong Vinh only narrowly won 50-48 against "Korean prodigy" Cho Myung-woo.
Quyet Chien led his opponent deeply from the beginning of the match on the afternoon of September 10, sometimes the gap was nearly 20 points. When the score was 47-35, he missed six of the next seven shots. The only point of Vietnam's number one player in this series was scored when he made a mistake, giving him the right to take the lead. The home players then gradually reduced the score to 44-48, then 47-49, causing Quyet Chien to sigh.
However, the defending champion's streak of points was stopped with a shot that missed by just a few millimeters, causing him to hold his face in regret. This time Quyet Chien did not miss the opportunity, hit the A shot to score the decisive point and win after 32 shots, then threw his fist down in celebration. The Turkish audience still applauded the two players, even though Tasdemir became the former king.
In the second semi-final a few hours later, Bao Phuong Vinh also beat Cho Myung-woo equally dramatically with a score of 50-48. Like Quyet Chien, Phuong Vinh led his opponent deeply most of the time, sometimes 32-16, then 46-33. The 28-year-old Vietnamese player then doubled down and continuously did not score points, while the Korean representative at one point took a series of 10 points and then equalized 48-48. In the end, Cho made a mistake and the decision returned to Phuong Vinh. This time he made no mistake as he scored two more points to win the match.
In the 3-cushion carom tournament system of the World Billiard Federation (UMB), the World Cup and World Championship (world championship) always gather top players. The World Cup takes place about six or seven times a year, and any player can participate. The world championship only invites the top players on the planet and continents, taking place once a year. Before this year, Vietnam had only had one player reach the final of the tournament, Nguyen Duc Anh Chien in 2019.
Like the World Cup final in Ho Chi Minh City in 2018, the host had both representatives, Quyet Chien and Ngo Dinh Nai. This time Vietnam continues to make history without needing the final results, the difference is that the two players are playing in Ankara, Turkey.
The final match between Quyet Chien and Phuong Vinh takes place at 8:00 p.m. today, Hanoi time.
