Duong Quoc Hoang added a few errors and lost narrowly to Marc Bijsterbosch 9-10 in the quarter-finals of the Spanish Open 9-ball pool.
After an "unforgettable" 10-9 victory over world number five Konrad Juszczyszyn in the round of 16, Quoc Hoang defeated world number seven Sanjin Pehlivanovic 10-5 to reach the quarter-finals of the Bijsterbosch match. The Dutchman is ranked 49th in the world, eight places behind Quoc Hoang, but was the 2017 European 10-ball champion.
Quoc Hoang regrets missing the decisive shot in the quarter-finals of the 2023 Spanish Open. Photo: Matchroom
In the quarterfinals, Quoc Hoang started slowly and was behind 1-6, then 4-9. However, the Vietnamese representative won the next five games to tie the score at 9-9. In game 18, Bijsterbosch had a chance to end the game when there were only two balls left on the table, but he chopped the eight ball too thinly and it did not go into the hole. Quoc Hoang took advantage of the opportunity to score, entering a life-or-death game.
In the final game, the Dutch representative made a mistake on the third ball, giving Quoc Hoang a chance to add the fourth ball to the ninth ball and end the game. At that time, the ninth ball was near the hole, but he hit the nine ball and missed the hole. Vietnam's number one player sat down, clasped his hands behind his head, tilted his head back and sighed.
Bijsterbosch's remaining task was much easier as the nine ball was right at the pocket. The Dutch number two used the four ball to hit the cue ball into the pocket, ending the game and advancing to the semi-finals. Many spectators stood up and applauded the two players. "It was a great match, and we have to respect these two top players," commented Matchroom channel.
Two shots decided the match.
Quoc Hoang finished in the quarterfinals with a prize of $6,000, and left behind some memorable performances. Of his four games in the knockout round, three ended in dramatic 10-9 scores. "Congratulations to Bijsterbosch on the win, because he played well in this match, and I didn't play well enough," the 36-year-old wrote on Facebook after the match.
With Quoc Hoang stopping in the quarterfinals, the Spanish Open no longer has any Vietnamese representatives. The four players who made it to the semifinals are Bijsterbosch, Pijus Labutis, Skyler Woodward and Dang Jin Hu, all of whom are outside the world's Top 30. The world's top players were all eliminated earlier, despite this being considered the biggest tournament of the year.
Xuan Binh
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