COLOMBIA - Vietnam's number one billiards player Tran Quyet Chien defeated Sameh Sidhom 50-44 after 31 innings to win his third World Cup 3-cushion billiards title.
On the final shot, Quyet Chien celebrated before knowing for sure that the ball's trajectory would be the deciding point. He kissed the cue stick, bowed his head towards the audience, and blew a kiss. The Bogota audience also applauded the Vietnamese player, and Sidhom also stood up, clapped, and went to hug Quyet Chien while he was still celebrating.
Quyet Chien continues to be the leading figure in Vietnamese billiards, with his third world title in his career, after Ho Chi Minh City 2018 and Porto 2023. In addition, only one other Vietnamese player has recently won a world title: Bao Phuong Vinh, with his victory at the World Championship in Turkey last year.
Runner-up Sameh Sidhom, champion Quyết Chiến, third-place Glenn Hofman and Robinson Morales on the podium after the final in Bogota, Colombia on the evening of March 3, 2024. Photo: Screenshot.
Sidhom's defeated opponent in Bogota, Colombia, coincidentally was the same opponent he had beaten in the final in Porto, Portugal last year. Sidhom entered this final aiming for revenge but was unsuccessful. The Egyptian player still hasn't won his first world title.
In the final match on the morning of March 4th, Hanoi time, Quyet Chien was at one point trailing by 10 points at 19-29, but he went on a 12-point run to take the lead 31-29. This was also the highest scoring streak by a Vietnamese player in the tournament. From then on, the two players battled point by point until the score reached 43-43. The 40-year-old player then made a six-point run, reaching 49-43 and ending the match.
Quyết Chiến played seven matches in Bogota, winning all of them. In the group stage, he defeated Luis Aveiga (Ecuador), home player Daniel Moreno, and Sidhom himself in Group F. The 40-year-old's performance averaged 1,791 points in these matches. In the knockout rounds, he successively defeated former world champion Tayfun Tasdemir, Tolgahan Kiraz, and the rising star Glenn Hofman, before winning against Sidhom again in the final match. His average performance in the tournament was 1,693 points per inning, lower than the two tournaments he had previously won.
Billiards player Tran Quyet Chien at the 3-cushion carom billiards World Cup in Bogota, Colombia in March 2024. Photo: Lifetime
The 3-Cushion Carom World Cup takes place in seven stages each year, bringing together hundreds of players competing from the qualifying rounds. The tournament has been organized by the World Billiards Federation (UMB) since 1986. Since 2015, Ho Chi Minh City has been a regular leg of the tournament. In Seoul in July 2007, Tran Chi Thanh became the first Vietnamese player to reach the World Cup final. Quyet Chien is the only Vietnamese player to have ever won the championship.
Tran Quyet Chien was born on February 3, 1984, in Ha Tinh province . He was once ranked third in the world according to the UMB rankings. For the past six years, he has been Vietnam's number one snooker player, reaching the World Cup finals five times and winning three titles. He was ranked fifth in the world before the tournament and could improve his ranking after leaving Colombia.
The next major tournament Quyet Chien will participate in is the World Team Championship, where he will compete with Bao Phuong Vinh in Viersen, Germany from March 21st to 24th. This is the only world championship in Vietnamese 3-cushion carom billiards that he has yet to win a title at.
Xuan Binh - Vnexpress.net
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