10 Vietnamese players advance on opening day of Ho Chi Minh City Billiards World Cup

Young player Nguyen Hoai Phong played impressively on the opening day of the 2025 Ho Chi Minh City Billiards World Cup - Photo: DUC PHONG

In this round, 48 players are divided into 16 groups, competing in a round robin for 30 points to select the top 16 players from each group to continue.

Impressions of young player participating in tournament for the first time

Much attention was paid to Group M, where the 2003-born player from An Giang, Nguyen Hoai Phong, participated in the World Cup billiards for the first time. In the opening match, Hoai Phong played impressively, winning 30-4 against Henk Overmars (Netherlands). In which he had a series of 7 points. Next, Hoai Phong won 30-14 against Masayuki Sawaoka (Japan) to take the top spot in the group and advance to the next round.

Besides Hoai Phong, there are 9 more Vietnamese players who have won tickets to the next round after this opening day of competition. In Group B, Nguyen Nhu Le won 30-20 against Mauricio Aguilar (Colombia) and won 30-23 against Jorge Costa (Portugal).

Truong Quang Hao also won all matches in Group C against Nguyen Ngoc Son (30-16) and Ataberk Cerkez (Türkiye, 30-21) to top the group. In Group D, Doan Minh Kiet, after drawing with Tran Manh Hung, defeated Kim Bong Soo (Korea) with a score of 30-25 after 19 rounds, helping him to top the group with a better goal difference than Manh Hung.

Nguyen Dinh Quoc won easily to continue - Photo: DUC PHONG

Nguyen Dinh Quoc showed impressive form in Group F when he won 30-11 against Osawa Takashi (Japan) and 30-15 against Lucas Egert (Denmark). Similarly, Ngo Le Duy won all matches in Group G against Fahri Gunaydin (Türkiye) and Takamasa Hagiwara (Japan).

Next in Group H, Dinh Quang Hai did not have much difficulty to top the group when he defeated Qian Jiale (China) and Aziz Kilicaslan (Türkiye). Meanwhile, in Group O, Le Quoc Ho played excellently when he defeated Nguyen Thanh Liem and Murat Ozsomer (Türkiye). The remaining name of Vietnam to continue is Nguyen Dinh Luan, who defeated Le Phuoc Minh Dien and Thierry Duson to top Group P.

Veteran Ly The Vinh defeated the only female player

Veteran Ly The Vinh played well but regretfully could not win a ticket to the next round - Photo: DUC KHUE

Although he did not advance, 62-year-old veteran Ly The Vinh still made an impression on the first day of competition at the Ho Chi Minh City Billiards World Cup.

Specifically, in the opening match of Group A, he tied with player Nguyen Quang Hung with a score of 30-30.

In the second round, the 62-year-old player competed with Litsa Mavridoglou. The beautiful Greek player is a pool player and has won the national championship. She is also the only female player to participate in the first qualifying round of the 3-cushion carom billiards World Cup in Ho Chi Minh City this year.

Litsa Mavridoglou is the only female player in the first qualifying round of the Ho Chi Minh City World Cup - Photo: DUC PHONG

Entering the match, Ly The Vinh took a 12-4 lead with a 7-point series. Not stopping there, he had another 12-point rally to win overwhelmingly 30-6 after 17 innings.

It is worth mentioning that despite having the highest score on the opening day, veteran Ly The Vinh had to stop regretfully. Because in the last match of Group A, Quang Hung won 30-11 against Litsa Mavridoglou in 16 shots and won the ticket to continue.

On the competition day of May 20, the Ho Chi Minh City Billiards World Cup will continue with the second qualifying round. In addition to the players who passed the first qualifying round, this competition day will also have the participation of notable Vietnamese players such as record holder Thon Viet Hoang Minh, Nguyen Hoan Tat or Nguyen Chi Long.

The 16 players who passed the first qualifying round will join the 32 players already present in the second qualifying round (according to UMB's rankings) and be divided into 16 groups, competing in a round-robin tournament with 30 points to select the top 16 players to continue.

The 2025 Ho Chi Minh City 3-Cushion Carom Billiards World Cup will take place from May 19 to 25 at Nguyen Du Stadium (District 1, Ho Chi Minh City), organized by the Ho Chi Minh City Billiards & Snooker Federation (HBSF). The tournament will feature 149 players, including some of the world's top superstars.

The champion of the tournament receives 16,000 euros and 80 bonus points. The runner-up receives 10,000 euros and 54 bonus points. The third-placed team receives 6,000 euros and 36 bonus points. The current champion of this tournament is the host country's player Tran Duc Minh.

DUC KHUE

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/10-co-thu-viet-nam-di-tiep-ngay-mo-man-world-cup-billiards-tp-hcm-20250519225622449.htm