Tran Quyet Chien meets his fateful opponent

Today (June 9), the Ankara 2025 Billiards World Cup officially kicked off in Türkiye. Vietnam has 10 players participating in the 3-cushion carom event, of which Tran Quyet Chien has determined his first opponent in the main round.

Tran Quyet Chien was given special privileges.

The Ankara Billiards World Cup 2025 will take place from June 9 to 15. The 10 Vietnamese players participating in the competition are Tran Quyet Chien, Bao Phuong Vinh, Tran Thanh Luc, Chiem Hong Thai, Nguyen Tran Thanh Tu, Nguyen Hoan Tat, Thon Viet Hoang Minh, Nguyen Chi Long, Dao Van Ly and Nguyen Dinh Luan. Of which, 4 names were specially selected to appear from the main round (round 32) of this Billiards World Cup stage: Tran Quyet Chien, Phuong Vinh, Thanh Luc and Hong Thai.

Quyet Chien (right) and Phuong Vinh won the 2024 world team championship.

PHOTO: UMB

According to the allocation of the World Carom Billiards Federation (UMB) based on the position on the rankings, Tran Quyet Chien is in the number 1 seed group, in group D, and has determined the first opponent is Bao Phuong Vinh. It can be said that this is a fateful confrontation between the two leading players of 3-cushion carom billiards in Vietnam. Also in Ankara, in 2023, Phuong Vinh defeated Quyet Chien in the final of the World Championship, the most prestigious tournament in the UMB competition system. This title is also a major turning point, bringing the career of the player from Binh Duong to a new page. Most recently, in early June, Tran Quyet Chien and Bao Phuong Vinh also clashed in the final of the SCTV Cup 2025 international billiards tournament. Phuong Vinh once again defeated his senior with a spectacular comeback.

Ankara is where Bao Phuong Vinh won the 2023 World Championship. However, the capital of Türkiye has never seen a Vietnamese player win a World Cup billiards tournament. The best achievement of a Vietnamese player at the Ankara World Cup billiards arena also belongs to Phuong Vinh. The 30-year-old player won the runner-up position, after losing to Heo Jung-han (Korea) in the final match in June 2024. Therefore, Vietnamese 3-cushion carom billiards fans are looking forward to the Vietnamese players reaching the top at this Ankara World Cup billiards tournament. Among them, Tran Quyet Chien is still the face that receives the greatest expectations. In 2024, the number 1 Vietnamese player "opened" very smoothly with the championship in the first World Cup tournament in Bogota - Colombia, then continued to set a historical milestone with Bao Phuong Vinh when winning the World Team Championship in Germany. But up to this point in 2025, Quyet Chien is still "unlucky" in his quest for a title. At the 2025 Bogota Billiards World Cup, Tran Quyet Chien stopped in the round of 16 after losing to Dick Jaspers. Most regrettably, in the semi-finals of the 2025 Ho Chi Minh City Billiards World Cup, the Vietnamese player lost to Jaspers (who later won the championship).

In the round of 32 of the Ankara 2025 Billiards World Cup, Chiem Hong Thai is in Group C with veteran Belgian player Eddy Merckx. Tran Thanh Luc faces Berkay Karakurt (Türkiye) in Group E. In addition, the remaining players of Vietnam have to compete in the qualifying rounds. Nguyen Tran Thanh Tu appeared in the 4th qualifying round. Dao Van Ly competed from the 3rd qualifying round. Nguyen Chi Long, Nguyen Hoan Tat, and Thon Viet Hoang Minh started from the 2nd qualifying round. Nguyen Dinh Luan played in the first qualifying round and will play tonight (June 9).

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/tran-quyet-chien-cham-tran-doi-thu-day-duyen-no-185250608191201281.htm