Who is Tran Thanh Luc?

The compelling journey of Tran Thanh Luc

On the morning of March 3rd, Tran Thanh Luc thrilled Vietnamese 3-cushion carom billiards fans with a dramatic 50-47 victory in the final of the 2025 Bogota World Cup leg in Colombia. Notably, Thanh Luc's opponent in the final match was the formidable Tasdemir Tayfun, a long-time top-ranked player in the world . Over many years of competition, the Turkish player has won all the most prestigious titles in the World Carom Billiards Federation (UMB) competition system. Tasdemir Tayfun has won the World Team Championship, three World Cup legs, and the World Individual Championship.

To reach the World Cup final for the first time in his career, Tran Thanh Luc had to overcome a memorable qualifying journey. In the main draw (round of 32) of the Bogota 2025 World Cup, the Vietnamese player was in a tough group with formidable players such as Marco Zanetti (Italy), Berkay Karakurt (Turkey), and Kang Ja-in (South Korea). Marco Zanetti, in particular, is a highly experienced player who won the most recent World Cup tournament held in Sharm el Sheikh (Egypt) in December 2024.

Tran Thanh Luc's joy after winning the Bogota 2025 World Cup billiards final.

Thanh Luc delivered a high-performing match and advanced to the round of 16 undefeated (2 wins, 1 draw), including a victory over Zanetti. And in the knockout rounds, the player born in 1990 performed even more impressively, winning consecutively against the "veterans" of world 3-cushion carom billiards. Thanh Luc defeated Eddy Merckx (Belgian, 13-time World Cup champion), and notably, he overcame the current world number 1 Dick Jaspers (Dutch, 31-time World Cup champion). Against a seasoned opponent, Thanh Luc displayed great composure and staged a spectacular comeback in the semi-final.

Add your name to the "golden list" of Vietnamese 3-cushion carom billiards.

Tran Thanh Luc was born in 1990 in Binh Duong province. He began pursuing 3-cushion carom billiards in 2011. In 2019, the 35-year-old player joined the Ho Chi Minh City billiards team, beginning his professional career. In 2023, he won a silver medal at the Asian Championships.

Thanh Luc is considered one of the top players in Vietnamese 3-cushion carom billiards for many years. He has won numerous domestic tournaments, including several victories against Vietnam's number one player, Tran Quyet Chien. However, before 2024, Thanh Luc had not made any significant mark at world-class UMB tournaments, with his best performance at the World Cup stages being reaching the quarterfinals.

Tran Thanh Luc, who reached the World Cup final for the first time, won the championship.

However, the 2024 World Individual Championship, held in Binh Thuan in September 2024, is considered a turning point that will take Tran Thanh Luc's career to a new level. The player from Binh Duong created a series of surprises to reach the final, but lost to the South Korean "prodigy" Cho Myung-woo and had to settle for the world runner-up title.

At that time, Thanh Luc spoke with Thanh Nien newspaper and stated that his goal was to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup. And now, the 35-year-old player has fulfilled his dream, and even achieved more. In Bogota, Colombia in 2025, Thanh Luc reached the semi-finals for the first time, the final for the first time, and also won his first World Cup stage title.

The "golden list" of Vietnamese 3-cushion carom billiards champions now includes the name of Tran Thanh Luc. Following Tran Quyet Chien (4-time World Cup champion: 2018, 2023, and 2-time in 2024) and Tran Duc Minh (World Cup Ho Chi Minh City 2024), Thanh Luc is the third Vietnamese player to hold a World Cup title. Meanwhile, Bao Phuong Vinh has previously won the individual World Championship. Furthermore, the duo of Tran Quyet Chien and Bao Phuong Vinh also helped the Vietnamese team win the World Team Championship in 2024.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/noi-got-tran-quyet-chien-vo-dich-world-cup-colombia-tran-thanh-luc-la-ai-185250303172149696.htm