This year's 9-a-side World pool tournament will take place from July 21 to 26 in Saudi Arabia, gathering 128 of the world's leading players, competing in a double format. The tournament has a total prize fund of up to 1 million USD, of which the champion receives 250,000 USD, while the qualified person directly receives a minimum of 3,500 USD.
In the first competition, Luong Duc Thien will face Van Boening, a player who won the world championship in the 9-ball event in 2022 and the 8-ball event in 2023. The American player has won more than 100 international titles in his career.
Although he is not highly ranked on the world rankings and has never won a major international title, Duc Thien played with great courage. The dramatic match was decided in the 17th game, when the score was tied at 8-8. Taking advantage of the decisive opportunity, the Vietnamese player made a delicate addition to the ball, hit the number 1 ball to bring the number 9 ball down the corner, ending a thrilling victory of 9-8.
Winning the match, Duc Thien qualified for the second leg, where he will meet Denis Grabe (estonia). If he continues to win, he will advance to the knockout round of 64 best players.
In round 1, another Vietnamese representative, Duong Quoc Hoang, also won convincingly 9-3 against JJ Faul (South Africa) and will face Daniel Maciol (Poland) in the second round.
This year's tournament recorded the participation of five Vietnamese players: Duong Quoc Hoang, Nguyen Anh Tuan, Luong Duc Thien, Bui Truong An and Pham Phuong Nam. Of which, the remaining three players will take the field today, July 22. Nguyen Anh Tuan will face Pijus Labutis, Pham Phuong Nam will play Aloysius Yapp, and Bui Truong An will meet Wiktor Zielinski.
The World 9-Ball pool Tournament is the biggest event in the pool event in the billiards system, where the world's leading players compete for the most prestigious titles of the year.
