The qualifying round attracted more than 250 players. According to the law, they play with 30 points out of a limit of 40 turns. The matches took place at Ho Xuan Huong Stadium (District 3, Ho Chi Minh City).
On the opening day with matches in 4 groups A, B, C, D, many exciting matches took place, attracting the attention of many fans. The most notable match was the competition between Ma Minh Cam and Doan Minh Kiet.
Minh Kiet entered the match confidently, scoring a series of 8 points in the third turn to take a lead of 11-3.
However, with their mettle and experience in playing, Minh Cam gradually narrowed the gap and closed the first half of the match with an advantage of 20 13.
The player born in 1975 continued to maintain a solid game position in the second half, thereby winning the final 30-17.
One of the highlights of the first day of competition was the highest series advantage - 14 points, achieved by Le Duc Huy Khiem (nickname Khiem Le) in the match against Nguyen Anh Duy.
Despite falling behind 15-20, Huy Khiem made a turning point in the 20th turn and thereby did not give the opponent a chance to turn back. In the end, he won 30-21 after 23 turns.
The Best game temporarily belonged to player Dao Van Ly, with an overwhelming victory of 30-3 after only 12 turns against Nguyen Thanh Ly - the oldest player in this years tournament (76 years old). This is one of the matches with the biggest gap since the beginning of the tournament.
In addition to their impressive individual performances, a number of other players have also overcome two consecutive matches of the day to register for the round of 64, typically Mai Tan Huyen, Pham Quoc Thich, Duong Thanh Luan...
Today (September 27), the SCTV Cup 2025 qualifiers will continue with groups E, F, G and H. Many familiar faces who have competed in both domestic and international competitions such as Nguyen Quoc Nguyen, Ngo Dinh Nai, Le Thanh Tien or Nguyen Tran Thanh Tu will officially compete.
The fact that top players have to start their journey from the qualifying round not only shows fierce competition but also affirms the attractiveness of an expanded tournament like the SCTV Cup 2025.
The International 3-cushion carom Billiards Tournament - SCTV Cup 2025 will take place from May 26 to 31 at Ho Xuan Huong Stadium (District 3, Ho Chi Minh City), organized by Saigontourist Cable Television Company (SCTV) in collaboration with the Ho Chi Minh City Billiards & Snooker Federation (HBSF).
The official round gathered 8 players (6 guests and 2 qualifiers), divided into 2 round-robin groups to calculate points, selecting 4 faces for the semi-finals and finals. The guests are all stars of the 3-cushion carom billiards world such as Tran Quyet Chien, Tayfun Tasdemir, Bao Phuong Vinh...
The total prize value is up to 790 million VND, of which the champion received 500 million - the highest prize ever for a 3-cushion carom tournament in Vietnam.
