The 2025 Bogota World Cup 3-cushion carom billiards tournament continues to witness dramatic competitions, lasting from late January 1 to early February 2 (Vietnam time). The Vietnamese player delegation with 4 representatives including Tran Quyet Chien, Tran Thanh Luc, Tran Duc Minh and Chiem Hong Thai made many impressions.
The match between Tran Quyet Chien and world number 1 Dick Jaspers (Netherlands) in the round of 16 was exciting. Although Tran Quyet Chien had some ups, at the decisive moment, Jaspers launched a 12-point series, deciding to win with a score of 50-40 after 32 turns. This is not an expected result, as Tran Quyet Chien could not successfully defend the championship title he won in this tournament in 2024.
Meanwhile, Tran Thanh Luc made a spectacular breakthrough when he convincingly won against Roland Forthomme (belgium) in the round of 16 with a score of 50-31, after 36 turns. He continued to show excellent form when he defeated legend Eddy Merckx (belgium) 50-25 after only 22 turns, advancing straight to the semi-finals for the first time in his career at the World Cup. With this victory, Tran Thanh Luc became the only hope for Vietnam to compete in the second round.
Young player Chiem Hong Thai also had an impressive performance when he defeated Torbjorn Blomdahl (Sweden) 50-29 in round 16. However, in the quarter-finals, Hong Thai regrettably lost the victory over Tolgahan Kiraz (Türkiye), despite leading 49-48 in the final minutes, and losing 50-49 after 38 turns.
Snooker Tran Duc Minh also stopped against Berkay Karakurt (Türkiye) with a score of 26-50 in round 1/16.
