On the morning of March 3 (Vietnam time), Tran Thanh Luc entered the final match of the 3-cushion carom billiards World Cup in Bogota, against opponent Tasdemir Tayfun of Turkey. Previously, Thanh Luc showed impressive form in the semi-final when defeating world No. 1 Dutch player Dick Jaspers, who has won the World Cup 30 times.
The final match between Tran Thanh Luc and Tasdemir was very tense, with fierce competition right from the first turns. Tasdemir leveled the score at 9-9 in the 7th turn, but Thanh Luc immediately counterattacked, scoring consecutively to take the lead. At the end of the first half, the Vietnamese player had the advantage with a score of 26 13.
In the second half, Tasdemir showed the resilience of a champion when scoring many 7-point series, causing Thanh Luc to face great pressure. In the 34th turn, Thanh Luc led 49-40, but Tasdemir did not give up and quickly narrowed the gap to 47-49. However, at the decisive moment, Thanh Luc made an excellent hit, scoring 50 points in the 36th turn and officially won the championship.
Although winning the first World Cup championship in his career, Thanh Luc only celebrated slowly, while the audience in Colombia was extremely excited with his impressive performance.
The victory at the Bogota World Cup 2025 not only helped Tran Thanh Luc affirm his name in the group of top players in the world, but also opened an important milestone for Vietnamese billiards in the international arena.
