Vietnam's number one player Duong Quoc Hoang will participate in the World Pool Masters 2023 for the first time, replacing Russian representative Fedor Gorst.
On the evening of May 5, the tournament organizers announced that they would replace Gorst with Quoc Hoang, five days before the tournament started, because the Russian player did not have time to apply for a visa. They invited the number one player in Vietnam many days ago and he was able to complete the procedures to go to England to participate in the tournament, from May 10 to 13 in Essex.
Announcement from the organizing committee about Quoc Hoang participating in the World Pool Masters. Photo: Matchroom
The World Pool Masters is the most prestigious invitational tournament in the pool world, taking place annually since 1993. The organizers usually invite the top 14 players in the Matchroom 9-ball pool rankings, along with two wildcards. Quoc Hoang is the first Vietnamese player to participate in this tournament.
This year's tournament will be a knockout tournament, and Quoc Hoang will meet Shane van Boening again in the first match on May 10. He has beaten Boening in all three recent confrontations, although the American player is considered the best player of the 2011-2020 decade. In the matches, players will advance if they win nine games and win a ball.
The remaining pairs in the round of 16 are Joshua Filler - Niels Feijen, Max Lechner - Mohammad Soufi, Jayson Shaw - Ko Pin Yi, Francisco Sanchez Ruiz - James Aranas, Wiktor Zielinski - Zheng Xiao Huai, Albin Ouschan - Eklent Kaci and Mario He - Alexander Kazakis. Of which, two players were given special permission: Zheng Xiao Huai (China) and James Aranas (Philippines).
According to the Matchroom rankings, Quoc Hoang is ranked 47th in the world, above Zheng and Aranas. In the World Pool Federation WPA rankings, he is ranked 46th. According to the Fargo Rate, based on direct confrontation between players, Quoc Hoang is ranked 27th. By any measure, Quoc Hoang, Zheng and Aranas are still below the other 13 players in the tournament.
Duong Quoc Hoang, 36 years old, was eliminated by Gorst in the round of 16 of the world 10-ball pool tournament in Las Vegas on March 3, 2023. A month earlier, he made a splash when he reached the quarterfinals of the world 9-ball pool, and won third place in the Las Vegas Open 10-ball pool. Quoc Hoang did not attend the 32nd SEA Games to attend the world tournament. The two players representing Vietnamese 9-ball pool at the Congress are Nguyen Anh Tuan and Ta Van Linh.
Xuan Binh
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