Tran Quyet Chien and 9 Vietnamese players compete in Türkiye
The Ankara Billiards World Cup 2025 will take place from June 9 to 15, with the participation of hundreds of players from all continents. Vietnam's 3-cushion carom billiards is expected to have about 10 players competing, including: Tran Quyet Chien, Bao Phuong Vinh, Tran Thanh Luc, Chiem Hong Thai, Nguyen Tran Thanh Tu, Nguyen Hoan Tat, Thon Viet Hoang Minh, Nguyen Dinh Luan, Nguyen Chi Long and Dao Van Ly.
Vietnam's No. 1 player Tran Quyet Chien is still the face that receives the most expectations from fans. Accordingly, the Ankara Billiards World Cup 2025 is based on the rankings (BXH) updated on March 2, 2025. In this ranking, Tran Quyet Chien is ranked 4th, so the Vietnamese player is given a special place in the main round (round of 32). At the same time, the player born in 1984 is also in the No. 1 seed group, located in Group D.
According to the latest rankings updated on May 25, Tran Quyet Chien has climbed to 2nd place in the world.
PHOTO: MINH DIEN
In 2024, Tran Quyet Chien had a dream start, when he was crowned at the first World Cup billiards tournament held in Bogota, Colombia. In 2025, after 2 World Cup billiards tournaments, the 41-year-old player has not been crowned. At the 2025 Bogota World Cup billiards, Tran Quyet Chien stopped in the round of 16 after losing to Dick Jaspers. Meeting the veteran Dutch player in the semi-finals of the 2025 Ho Chi Minh City World Cup billiards, Vietnam's No. 1 player continued to be defeated despite playing with great effort and leading for most of the time.
It can be said that Tran Quyet Chien's problem recently is not in terms of technique or performance, but in terms of mentality and the ability to close out the match. In both of his most recent losses, in the semi-finals of the Ho Chi Minh City Billiards World Cup 2025 and the recent SCTV Cup final, he was leading and had the advantage, but was stuck at the decisive moment. Most recently, in the quarter-finals of the 2025 National Billiards & Snooker Championship held in Ba Ria - Vung Tau , Quyet Chien also lost with a narrow score of 49-50 to Doan Minh Kiet, with a similar scenario.
Chiem Hong Thai was specially invited to appear from round 32 of the Ankara 2025 Billiards World Cup
PHOTO: UMB
Besides Tran Quyet Chien, 3 other Vietnamese players were also given special permission to compete from round 32, namely Bao Phuong Vinh, Tran Thanh Luc and Chiem Hong Thai. According to the UMB format, the 14 players leading the world rankings are given special permission to enter the main round. Among them, Quyet Chien, Phuong Vinh and Thanh Luc are in the top 14. Chiem Hong Thai is ranked 15th, but was promoted to replace a player from the top 14 who was absent, specifically Kim Jun-tae. The Korean player is ranked 6th and is also in the top seed group. However, Kim Jun-tae has officially said goodbye to UMB to join the Korean professional billiards league - PBA.
In addition to the four names mentioned above, the remaining Vietnamese players had to compete in the qualifying rounds. Nguyen Tran Thanh Tu played in the fourth qualifying round. Dao Van Ly competed from the third qualifying round. Nguyen Chi Long, Nguyen Hoan Tat, and Thon Viet Hoang Minh started from the second qualifying round. Nguyen Dinh Luan appeared in the first qualifying round.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/billiards-tran-quyet-chien-la-hat-giong-so-1-tai-world-cup-ankara-2025-185250606182052244.htm
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