Billiards: Ma Minh Cam won PBA runner-up, received more than 600 million in prize money

Facing veteran player Daniel Sanchez who played so well with a series of shots, Ma Minh Cam, despite his best efforts, had to accept defeat. The Vietnamese player won the runner-up position in the 7th round of the Korean Professional 3-cushion carom billiards tournament (PBA) 2025-2026 season.

On the evening of November 11, Ma Minh Cam faced Daniel Sanchez (Spain) in the final round 7 of the PBA 2025-2026 season. The Spanish player is a huge challenge for the Vietnamese athlete. Daniel Sanchez is a veteran player, holding both the World Cup Billiards championship (15 times) and the World Championship (4 times) of the tournament system of the World Carom Billiards Federation (UMB). This is Sanchez's third final match at the PBA this season. In the previous two times he reached the championship match, the Spanish player lost and finished as runner-up.

The encounter between Minh Cam and Sanchez also recreated the semi-final match in the 6th round. At that time, the Vietnamese player lost with a score of 2-4.

Sanchez scored in all games

Entering the final, Sanchez showed his class right in the first turn with a series of 7 points, including precise a-bang (scoring 2 points). In the 4th turn, he added a series of 6, winning 15/6 in game 1. In game 2, Ma Minh Cam missed many opportunities with easy balls and had to pay the price. When the score was 4/4, in the 5th turn, Sanchez had a series of 11 points, winning 15/4, and leading 2-0.

In game 3, Sanchez had a series of 5. Although Ma Minh Cam did not have any turn of 5 points or more, he played evenly and won 15/7 after 7 turns, shortening the score to 1-2.

Ma Ming-Kam failed to win the PBA stage championship for the second time.

PBA

Game 4 was probably Ma Minh Cam's most regrettable game. Sanchez had a series of 6 with consecutive accurate a-ban situations. When he was down 6/12, Ma Minh Cam scored the first series of the match with 8 points to take the lead 14/12, but Minh Cam missed the finishing shot. When Sanchez came to the table, he scored 3 points to win 15/14, taking the lead 3-1.

In game 5, Minh Cam reached set point first, leading 14/9. Sanchez then hit a series of 5 and was on championship point, but could not finish the match. The Vietnamese player rekindled hope when he won 15/14, reducing the score to 2-3.

Daniel Sanchez played very well and consistently to win the PBA championship for the second time in his career.

PHOTO: PBA

In the final game, Sanchez continued to show his impressive ability to hit series. After 2 rounds, the Spanish player scored 2 series of 6 points, before winning 15/4, thereby winning 4-2 overall against Ma Minh Cam.

Daniel Sanchez has proven why he is considered a "legend" in the contemporary 3-cushion carom billiards world. Meanwhile, Ma Minh Cam is still the "flagship" of Vietnamese 3-cushion carom at PBA with 2 finals and 1 championship. Other Vietnamese players such as Nguyen Huynh Phuong Linh, Nguyen Quoc Nguyen and Ngo Dinh Nai have all reached the finals but have not been able to win the championship.

With this championship, Sanchez received 100 million won (about 1.8 billion VND) in prize money. Ma Minh Cam came in second, receiving 34 million won (equivalent to 611 million VND) in prize money.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/billiards-ma-minh-cam-doat-a-quan-pba-nhan-hon-600-trieu-tien-thuong-18525111121431662.htm