On the evening of October 13, the final match of the Hanoi Open Pool Championship 2024 billiards tournament between Johann Chua (Philippines) and Ko Pin Yi (Taiwan, China) took place at My Dinh Indoor Athletics Palace.
Both players started off shaky, but Johann Chua quickly regained his confidence. Meanwhile, Ko Pin Yi had a few good plays, but was inconsistent.
In game 3, the "prince of billiards" missed the 2 ball. In game 4, he let the cue ball die, allowing Johann Chua to lead 3-1. It was not until game 6 that Ko Pin Yi was able to break his opponent's winning streak. He made a divine shot, eating the 1 and 9 balls at the same time to reduce the score to 2-4. However, in game 7, the Filipino player regained his winning momentum.
The score chase was exciting. In game 14, Ko Pin Yi made the stands explode with a classy connecting shot that ended the game, narrowing the score to 7-8.
Extreme tension appeared in game 16. Ko Pin Yi and Johann took turns making mistakes at ball number 6. After a few back-and-forth shots, the Filipino player was more courageous and won the 10th point.
In the following games, Ko Pin Yi continuously made mistakes, even missing the 9 ball in the penultimate game, thereby sadly watching Johann Chua win the championship with a difference of 13-7.
Thus, Johann Chua has won his first Major championship after missing out at the 2024 European Open.
Winning the 2024 Mansion Sports Open Pool, Johann Chua received $30,000 in prize money, while Ko Pin Yi received $15,000.
In its second year, the Hanoi Open Pool Championship witnessed many surprises right from the first rounds. The two most anticipated players, Eklent Kaci and Viktor Zielinski (top players in the world), both stopped after the qualifying round.
Vietnam had 8 representatives in the round of 64, but Duong Quoc Hoang, Luong Duc Thien, Bui Truong An, Lo Van Xuan... all stopped. Only Nguyen Van Huynh was the only representative of the host to continue but was also eliminated after the round of 32.
Another surprise was Shane Van Boening stopping before the “strange wind” Harry Vergara. This Filipino player is still very unfamiliar to Vietnamese fans. He entered this year’s tournament through the CPBA Hanoi Open Pool qualifier.
The confrontation between Jayson Shaw (2023 champion) and Ko Pin Yi in the quarterfinals also brought a high-quality "party". Despite playing excitedly, Jayson Shaw was still turned into a former champion by Ko Pin Yi.
