Vietnam achieved a miracle at the world team billiard tournament

After three consecutive eliminations in the quarterfinals, Vietnam will finally stand on the world team medal podium for the first time. 29-year-old player Phuong Vinh, in his first tournament, as the reigning world champion, shined with his senior Quyet Chien. Phuong Vinh's important victory in the final match of the group stage and quarterfinals contributed greatly to helping Vietnam make history.

The quarterfinal match between Vietnam and Belgium on the evening of March 23 was tense, when Quyet Chien met Eddy Merckx, and Phuong Vinh played Jozef Philipoom. Quyet Chien is currently the number two player in the world, the reigning World Cup champion. Phuong Vinh ranked eighth and is the reigning World Champion.

However, Merckx is considered a billiard legend with 19 world titles of all kinds, while Philipoom also won both the World Cup and World Championship. Therefore, this match is considered a great battle between the old continent and the young generation.

Quyet Chien started well, leading Merckx 11-1, but after three consecutive rounds without scoring, he was equalized by his opponent. The two players continued to chase the score to 31-30, when the Vietnamese representative failed to score three points in a row, allowing the opponent to win 40-30.

In the next table taking place at the same time, Phuong Vinh had to beat Philipoom, otherwise Vietnam would be eliminated. At one point, Vietnam's number two player was led 31-28, but he scored a series of 5 and 7 points, to win 40-34. That means the two teams must play a tie-break in a double bowl format up to 15 points, meaning all four players play on the same table and play alternately.

There, the class of the reigning World Cup and World Championship champions was demonstrated, when Quyet Chien and Phuong Vinh won the right to start and scored 13 points in a row. At one point, Phuong Vinh hit the target ball with a distance of only millimeters, making him breathe a sigh of relief, then smile and signal his opponent's sympathy. In the second round, two Vietnamese players both scored points to win 15-3. When they knew that the ball's trajectory would become the decisive point, Quyet Chien and Phuong Vinh both shouted with joy.

The 2024 World Team Championship still includes 16 teams, divided into four groups of four teams each, with a round-robin match to select eight teams to enter the knockout round, from March 21 to March 3 in the city of Viersen, Virtue. Each team will have two players, playing at the same time. This is Phuong Vinh's first time participating in the tournament, while Quyet Chien has represented Vietnam for all five recent tournaments.

In the group stage, Vietnam drew with Spain in the opening match, when Quyet Trinh won against Ruben Legazpi, and Phuong Vinh lost to Sergio Jimenez. Then the two Vietnamese players both defeated their Argentine opponents. In the final round against Turkey, Vietnam only needs a draw to advance. While Quyet Chien lost to Tayfun Tasdemir, Phuong Vinh helped the team avoid elimination by winning the game against Tolgahan Kiraz.

Quyet Chien is 40 years old, has been the number one player in Vietnam for the past six years, and has won the World Cup three times. As for Phuong Vinh, 29 years old, he has only been competing internationally for nearly two years, surprising him by winning the World Championship in 2023. In addition, no Vietnamese player has ever won the world championship.

The semi-finals and finals will take place tonight, March 24, Hanoi time. Vietnam meets America, with Hugo Patino and Raymon Groot. This is a great opportunity for Vietnam to continue writing history, because Patino and Groot are both outside the Top 3 in the world.

Xuan Binh