Billiards World Games semi-final schedule today: Tran Quyet Chien gets closer to his dream title

Vietnam's No. 1 billiard player Tran Quyet Chien has shown his mettle by winning a ticket to the semi-finals of the 2025 World Games, and is very close to the prestigious medal.

How excellent is Tran Quyet Chien?

In the 3-cushion carom billiards event of the 2025 World Games held in Chengdu (China), Tran Quyet Chien's journey created many emotions for Vietnamese fans. In the group stage, the number 1 Vietnamese player opened with a "tense as a string" match with Jeremy Bury (France), even almost losing if he did not make good use of the back-pa turn (tied 40-40). Then, Quyet Chien made the audience's heart stop when he narrowly won 40-38 against Luis Martinez and advanced to the quarter-finals as the group leader.

Tran Quyet Chien has a great chance to win the first World Games medal of his career.

PHOTO: FIVE&SIX

It can be said that Tran Quyet Chien has not yet reached his best form in the group stage, but the owner of 4 World Cup billiards championships has shown the mettle of a world-class player when meeting formidable opponent Bury again in the quarter-finals. Quyet Chien promptly improved his form and won 40-32. Once again, the 42-year-old player showed his ability to adjust his tactics and mentality extremely quickly before entering the knockout match, where there is no chance to correct mistakes.

With a ticket to the semi-finals, Quyet Chien has come very close to the title he craves - the first World Games medal in his career. Before going to China, Vietnam's number 1 player once confided: "Up to now, I have not owned a World Games medal. Therefore, my goal is to win a medal in this arena." If he wins the semi-finals, Quyet Chien will certainly have at least a silver medal. If he loses, the opportunity to win a bronze medal is still open to him.

In his two previous participations (in Poland in 2017 and the US in 2022), Tran Quyet Chien stopped at the quarter-finals. At this time, the distance to the goal is significantly closer, but there are still many obstacles for the Vietnamese player. In the semi-finals of the 2025 World Games, Tran Quyet Chien faces a big challenge from the reigning world champion of 3-cushion carom billiards Cho Myung-woo. The Korean billiards prodigy is in extremely good form. In less than a month and a half, this player born in 1998 has won 3 championship titles. Cho Myung-woo won the Porto Billiards World Cup (Portugal) on July 5, then won 2 national championships in Korea on July 16 and August 6. In the quarter-finals of the 2025 World Games, Cho Myung-woo defeated his compatriot Heo Jung-han with a score of 40-29.

The 27-year-old also had a poor start to the 2025 World Games, with only 1 draw and 1 loss in the group stage. However, Cho Myung-woo's victory over a strong opponent in the quarter-finals is a sign that he has regained his form. Therefore, the semi-final match between Tran Quyet Chien and Cho Myung-woo at 8am today (August 13) is likely to be very tense and exciting.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/lich-thi-dau-ban-ket-billiards-world-games-hom-nay-tran-quyet-chien-tien-gan-danh-hieu-mo-uoc-185250812232515711.htm