In this round, 48 players are divided into 16 groups, competing in a round-robin with 30 points to select the top 16 players in the groups to continue.
A lot of attention is paid to Group M, where player born in 2003 from An Giang Nguyen Hoai Phong participated in the World Cup for the first time.
In the opening match, Hoai Phong played impressively, winning overwhelmingly 30-4 against Henk Overmars (Netherlands), including a 7-point series.
Next, the 22-year-old player won 30-14 against Masayuki Sawaoka (Japan). This result helped Hoai Phong take the top spot in the group to continue.
Besides Hoai Phong, 9 more Vietnamese players won tickets to continue after this opening match day. In Group B, Nguyen Nhu Le won 30-20 against Mauricio Aguilar (Colombia) and won 30-23 against Jorge Costa ( portugal).
Truong Quang Hao also won all matches in Group C against Nguyen Ngoc Son (scoring 30-16) and Ataberk Cerkez (Türkiye, score 30-21) to top the group.
In Group D, Doan Minh Kiet, after drawing with Tran Manh Hung, defeated Kim Bong Soo (Korea) with a score of 30-25 after 19 turns, helping him win the top spot in the group when he was better than Manh Hung with an extra goal when Manh Hung had to lose 27 turns to beat his Korean opponent.
Nguyen Dinh Quoc showed impressive form in Group F when they won 30-11 against Osawa Takashi (Japan) and won 30-15 against Lucas Egert (denmark).
Similarly, Ngo Le Duy won all Group G against Fahri Gunaydin (Türkiye) and Takamasa Hagiwara (Japan).
Next in Group H, Dinh Quang Hai did not have much difficulty to top the group when he defeated Qian Jiale (China) and Aziz Kilicaslan (Türkiye) respectively. Meanwhile, in Group O, Le Quoc Ho played excellently, defeating Nguyen Thanh Liem and Murat Ozsomer (Türkiye).
The remaining name of Vietnam to continue is Nguyen Dinh Luan, who has gradually surpassed Le Phuoc Minh Dien and Thierry Duson to top Group P.
On the competition day of May 20, the tournament will continue with the second qualifying round. In addition to the players who have passed the first qualifying round, this competition day will have the participation of notable Vietnamese players such as record holder Thon Viet Hoang Minh, Nguyen Hoan Tat or Nguyen Chi Long.
16 players who pass the first qualifying round will join 32 players in the second qualifying round (according to UMB's rankings) divided into 16 groups, competing in a round-robin with 1 touch of 30 points to select the top 16 players to continue.
The Ho Chi Minh City 3-cushion Billiards Carom World Cup 2025 will take place from May 19 to 25, at Nguyen Du Stadium (District 1, Ho Chi Minh City) organized by the Ho Chi Minh City Billiards & Snooker Federation (HBSF). The tournament has the participation of 149 players, including the world's top superstars.
The champion of the tournament received 16,000 Euros and 80 reward points. Runner-up 10,000 Euros and 54 reward points. Third place will receive a prize money of 6,000 Euros/person and 36 points. The remaining positions will receive bonuses and bonus points according to the allocation.
