On the afternoon of October 15 (Vietnam time), Bao Phuong Vinh entered the second match of Group M, against Kiraz Tolgahan (Türkiye). This is a familiar opponent for Bao Phuong Vinh, because he had previously won Kiraz with a score of 40-31 at the World Cup billiards just ended in Belgium.
Entering the match, Bao Phuong Vinh still showed incredible courage. He was soon behind Kiraz with a score of 2-11 after only the first 2 turns. But in the 8th turn, Bao Phuong Vinh shortened the score to 15-16.
The more the player plays, the more the Vietnamese player shows calmness and accuracy in each hit. The turning point of the match came in the 19th and 20th turns when Bao Phuong Vinh scored 5 and 8 points respectively, while Kiraz only scored 5 points. Creating a safe distance, Bao Phuong Vinh ended the match with a 40-35 victory after 22 turns.
In the previous match in Group M, Bao Phuong Vinh defeated Luis Bahamondes (Chile) with a score of 40-13 after 12 turns. With 2 wins, Bao Phuong Vinh has secured the top spot and qualified for the round of 16.
Also on the afternoon of October 15, player Chiem Hong Thai had his opening match at the world tournament. The Vietnamese player had a commendable match when he drew with Roland Forthomme (belgium) 40-40 after 17 turns, achieving an impressive scoring efficiency of 2,352 points/turn, including a turn with 12 points. Hong Thai will have one more match against Bart Ceulemans (belgium) to decide the ticket to the next round.
Also on the evening of October 15, Tran Quyet Chien, Tran Thanh Luc and Nguyen Tran Thanh Tu will compete in the remaining qualifying matches. Among them, Quyet Chien and Thanh Luc won their first match, while Thanh Tu lost the match and he had to try very hard to get a ticket to the next round.
The 3-cushion carom billiards world championship took place from 14 to 18 October in Antwerp, Belgium, attracting 48 players to participate. The players are divided into 16 groups, each group has 3 people. The players will compete for up to 40 points, selecting the top 2 players in each group to continue. After that, the 32 players will compete in the knockout round, with a score of up to 50 to choose the champion.
