Many Vietnamese players won the qualifying round of the International Billiards Tournament

In this round, 128 Vietnamese and international players will compete from September 20-23 at the Sports Service Center (District 11, Ho Chi Minh City) to compete for the championship of 5,000 USD (about 130 million VND) and 32 places to advance to the final round.

In the final round taking place from September 25-29 at Ho Xuan Huong Stadium (District 3, Ho Chi Minh City), 128 players, including 96 players with official slots, including the world's top superstars, and 32 players who passed the qualifying round will compete for the championship title of up to 35,000 USD (nearly 900 million VND). This is the largest prize money in the history of Billiards Pool Vietnam.

The opening day witnessed the impressive performance of the home Vietnamese players against veteran international opponents. Notably, Bang Chi Thong won 9-4 against Vincent Blair Wentzell (Canada). Huynh Long Ho won impressively 9-1 against the player from the Philippines, Alexander Villadores. Nguyen Hoang Phong defeated Darras Kamal Tahrir (Bangladesh) with a score of 9-2. Chieu Chieu Minh won 9-6 against Nizam Uddin Ahmed (Bangladesh). Nguyen Bao Chau won 9-0 against Ho Chiu Morris Chan (England)....

Notably, Cao Van Hao won 9-5 against Raphael Dabreo. The American player regularly participates in international tournaments and has achieved some great results. Notably, he ranked 5th at the Kyoto Open 2023 or 9th at the Tokai Grand Frix 2022.

Raphael Dabreo took the lead twice in a row but was equalized by Van Hao. The Vietnamese player then won three games in a row to lead 5-2. Taking advantage of his opponent's mistakes, especially the decisive balls, Van Hao won 9-5 and secured a ticket to the next round.

In addition, a notable “civil war” occurred when Le Van Quyen won 9-5 against his senior Do Hoang Quan. The only female player of the tournament, Nguyen Bich Tram, lost 4-9 to Abdullah Siddiqui (Bangladesh) and had to fall to the loser’s bracket.

On September 21, the tournament continues with the second day of competition (round 2) in the qualifying round. This promises to be a very exciting day with the participation of many strong players. The highlight will be the competition between the home players and the stars from the Philippines, the country with the most developed pool billiards in the world.

Some notable ones include Truong Hoang Lam vs Assis Tadique. Truong Nguyen Dinh Huan vs Cuna Ruben Ampone. Nguyen Hoang Tuan vs Miraflor John Carlos Ignacio and especially the “super classic” between Ho So Phat and veteran player Raymund Faraon.