Billiards: Dao Van Ly spectacularly defeated the legendary Blomdahl, Bao Phuong Vinh was unexpectedly eliminated

Vietnamese billiard players had a quite successful day of competition, when 5 out of 7 athletes competing in the fourth qualifying round won tickets to the final round of the Gwangju Billiards World Cup taking place in Korea.

The fourth qualifying round of the Gwangju 2025 Billiards World Cup has 7 Vietnamese players competing, including: Bao Phuong Vinh, Le Thanh Tien, Nguyen Hoan Tat (all in group A), Chiem Hong Thai (group C), Dao Van Ly (group G), Nguyen Chi Long (group G), Nguyen Tran Thanh Tu (group K).

Dao Van Ly advances by defeating billiards legend Blomdahl

Dao Van Ly was in a tough group with Jeong Sung-il (Korea) and Swedish legend Torbjorn Blomdahl. In the opening match, Van Ly lost 35-40 (after 24 rounds) to Jeong Sung-il. In a must-win situation in the decisive match, Dao Van Ly played well against veteran player Blomdahl. The Vietnamese player defeated the Swedish player 40-33, after 23 rounds. In the end, Dao Van Ly won the ticket to continue with the top position in group G.

Dao Van Ly lost the opening match but "came back" to continue with the top spot in the group.

PHOTO: TB

Bao Phuong Vinh also had a record of 1 win and 1 loss, but could not advance. Phuong Vinh surprisingly lost to Hoan Tat in the opening match, with a score of 33-40. In the decisive match against Le Thanh Tien, Phuong Vinh came back to win 40-30 after 20 innings. However, that effort was not enough to help the 2023 world champion "squeeze through the narrow door" to advance further.

All three Vietnamese players in Group A had the same record of 1 win and 1 loss. However, Le. Thanh Tien was the only one to advance with the first place in the group. Bao Phuong Vinh finished second in the group and unfortunately stopped. The three best second-placed players got tickets to the finals, but Phuong Vinh finished fourth.

Thanh Tu and Chi Long were victorious.

Two Vietnamese players performed impressively and won tickets to the finals with 2 wins each, namely Nguyen Tran Thanh Tu and Nguyen Chi Long. In group K, Thanh Tu defeated Tarik Yavuz (Türkiye) 40-16, before defeating Sergio Jimenez (Spain) with a score of 40-28. Chi Long had a smooth start in group J, when he dramatically defeated Rui Manuel Costa (Portugal) 40-38, then won a thrilling victory over Türkiye's formidable player Gokhan Salman 40-39.

1999-born player Chiem Hong Thai played with confidence to win a ticket to the finals.

PHOTO: TB

Chiem Hong Thai started in Group C, drawing 40-40 with David Pennor (Sweden). In the decisive match, the 1999-born Vietnamese player faced strong opponent Huberney Catano (Colombia). Hong Thai played quite well and won 40-35 after 23 rounds. The 1999-born player also advanced to the finals with the top spot in Group C.

Thus, the Gwangju 2025 Billiards World Cup Finals have 7 Vietnamese players competing, including: Tran Quyet Chien, Tran Thanh Luc, Nguyen Tran Thanh Tu, Nguyen Chi Long, Chiem Hong Thai, Dao Van Ly, Le Thanh Tien. Of which, Quyet Chien and Thanh Luc are the players who are given special permission to play from the Finals because they are in the top 14 of the world rankings.

The Gwangju Billiards World Cup 2025 will take place from November 7, bringing together the 32 best players, divided equally into 8 groups. The players will compete in a round robin to calculate points and rank. The top two players in each group will advance to the knockout round (16 players).

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/billiards-dao-van-ly-thang-ngoan-muc-huyen-thoai-blomdahl-bao-phuong-vinh-bat-ngo-bi-loai-185251106193541565.htm