TURKEY 28-year-old player Bao Phuong Vinh participated in the world 3-cushion carom tournament for the first time, but beat Tran Quyet Chien 50-34 in the all-Vietnam final.
In the final match on the evening of September 10 in Ankara, Phuong Vinh led his senior for most of the time, with the turning point being an 8-point series to lead 29-22. While Quyet Chien lost his cue feeling and continuously lost points since then, Phuong Vinh played more steadily and accumulated each point. In the last 12 rounds, Vietnam's number one player only earned four points, while his junior won 11 points. In the end, Phuong Vinh beat Quyet Chien 50-34 after 33 rounds.
Bao Phuong Vinh at the 2023 World Carom 3-Cushion Championship in Ankara, Türkiye. Photo: UMB
Phuong Vinh made history by becoming the first Vietnamese player to win the 3-cushion carom world championship, but he did not show the same joy as when he beat Cho Myung-woo in the semi-finals a few hours earlier. He expressed his emotions simply, shook hands with Quyet Chien and smiled. In the 95-year history of the 3-cushion carom billiards world championship, there have only been three times when the final match was between two players from the same country: Argentina in 1938, Belgium in 2017 and this time in Vietnam.
Phuong Vinh is currently ranked 21st in the world, with his previous notable achievement being reaching the Asian semi-finals in March 2023 in Korea. At that time, he lost to compatriot Tran Thanh Luc, but Thanh Luc lost to Cho Myung-woo in the final. This time Phuong Vinh eliminated the Korean "prodigy" with a score of 50-48, to meet Quyet Chien in the final.
Quyet Chien, the world number 10, also entered the final after defeating defending champion Tayfun Tasdemir 50-47 in the semi-final this afternoon. Today, the number one Vietnamese player usually starts well, but cools down towards the end of the match. The home player could not take advantage of Quyet Chien's mistakes, but Phuong Vinh did.
Player Bao Phuong Vinh celebrates his victory. Photo: UMB
Phuong Vinh was born in 1995 and studied in Australia for an economics degree before returning to Vietnam at the end of 2019. Since then, he has started playing professionally. Over the past year, the 28-year-old player has often participated in major tournaments such as the World Cup, and then surprisingly became the world champion.
In the 3-cushion carom tournament system of the International Billiard Federation (UMB), the World Cup and World Championship always gather the top players. The World Cup takes place about six or seven times a year, and amateur players can also participate as long as they pay a fee. The World Championship only invites the top players on the planet and continents, and takes place once a year. Previously, Vietnam had only one player in the final round of the tournament, Nguyen Duc Anh Chien in 2019.
Vnexpress.net
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