The Seoul 2024 World Cup billiards kicked off in South Korea on November 4th. However, Tran Quyet Chien, with his high ranking on the World Carom Billiards Federation (UMB) rankings, was seeded and given a bye to compete from the main draw (32 players). Unlike his performance at the Veghel 2024 World Cup (Netherlands), Vietnam's number one player arrived at the tournament in South Korea with a very different mindset.
Tran Quyet Chien is determined to reclaim the world number 1 ranking.
Prior to the 2024 Veghel World Cup in late October, Tran Quyet Chien was not in good form and faced much skepticism. However, he provided a convincing answer by winning the championship in the Netherlands, thus securing his fourth title at a World Cup tournament. With renewed faith among fans, Tran Quyet Chien remains the player with the highest expectations heading into the 2024 Seoul Billiards World Cup.
Tran Quyet Chien shared with Thanh Nien newspaper : “After the 2024 World Championship in Binh Thuan in September, I understood why I played so poorly. I tried to correct that, improving every day to win the championship at the World Cup in the Netherlands.” In addition, the 40-year-old player also affirmed that he wants to re-establish his number one ranking in the world. These are reasons to believe that Tran Quyet Chien will continue to have a breakout tournament in South Korea.
Currently, Tran Quyet Chien is ranked second with 380 points, while Dick Jaspers (Netherlands) leads the rankings with 426 points. Both Quyet Chien and Jaspers need to defend 26 points (meaning they must reach the semi-finals to maintain their current ranking). If Quyet Chien can advance beyond the quarter-finals and Jaspers is eliminated early, the Vietnamese player will have a good chance of returning to the top of the rankings, something he achieved in June 2024. However, high expectations also create pressure for Vietnam's number one player. Hopefully, an experienced player like Quyet Chien will know how to overcome the pressure and continue to perform well in South Korea.
The Seoul World Cup billiards 2024 rankings are based on the updated rankings on September 2nd, 2024, when the top 14 players automatically qualify for the main draw (32 players). At that time, Bao Phuong Vinh was ranked 8th, so he was automatically qualified for the main draw of the Seoul World Cup billiards 2024. Currently, however, the player from Binh Duong has dropped to 17th place in the rankings after a series of unsuccessful tournaments. The 2023 World Championship winner needs to seize this opportunity to improve his ranking.
4 Vietnamese players compete in the round of 32 of the World Cup Seoul 2024.
Two out of five Vietnamese players who advanced from the fourth qualifying round to the main draw (32 players) of the Seoul 2024 World Cup Billiards are Dao Van Ly and Nguyen Hoan Tat. Defending world runner-up Tran Thanh Luc, young player Chiem Hong Thai, and Thon Viet Hoang Minh were eliminated. Therefore, the main draw of the Seoul 2024 World Cup Billiards will feature four Vietnamese representatives: Tran Quyet Chien, Bao Phuong Vinh, Dao Van Ly, and Nguyen Hoan Tat.
