On the evening of September 27, at Military Region 7 Gymnasium (HCMC), the first semi-final match of the 2025 WPA Men's 10-Ball World Championship (Predator) took place between 2 players Shane Van Boening (USA) and Alex Kazakhstanis (Greece).
Although considered to be more experienced, Van Boening started slowly and lost 0-4 in the first set. The American player regained his form, winning 4-0 in set 2 to level the score. In set 3, Kazakis took advantage of the opportunity, taking the lead with a 4-2 victory. Van Boening then brought the match back to balance by winning 4-2 in set 4.
Set 5 decided to take a dramatic turn and ended in a 3-3 draw, forcing the two players to enter the penalty shootout. Here, both needed a total of 26 penalty shots - the longest in the history of the world billiards pool to determine the winning or losing goal. Kazakhstanis showed his coolness and courage, winning a narrow victory of 13-12, thereby registering his name in the final against Ko Ping Chung (Taiwan (China).
The final match of the 2025 Predator WPA Men's 10-Ball World Championship will take place at 4:00 p.m. on September 28.
Previously, also at Military Region 7 Gymnasium, 2 tournaments took place, the International Women's Box Billiards Mixed Doubles Open, with the championship belonging to Joshua Filler and Pia Filler. On September 26, the final match of the Poison Cues Saigon Women's 9-Ball Open International 9-Ball Open Women's Tournament also ended with the highest title for Taiwanese (Chinese) representative Tzu-Chien Wei.
The largest international billiards tournament series ever in Vietnam includes 3 events: 2025 10-Ball Men's World Championship, Box Billiards Mixed Doubles Open and Poison Cues Saigon Women's 9-Ball Open. The tournaments are jointly organized by Box Billiards, Predator and the Ho Chi Minh City Billiards & Snooker Federation (HBSF), under the sponsorship of the World Pool Billiards Association (WPA).
The total prize value is up to 425,000 USD (about 11.2 billion VND), of which the 10-man weightlifting world championship alone has a prize fund of 250,000 USD (nearly 6.6 billion VND), the champion received 70,000 USD (about 1.8 billion VND).
