Billiards: Breathtaking chase, Tran Quyet Chien regretfully loses to Korean prodigy

On the morning of August 13, Tran Quyet Chien faced Cho Myung-woo in the semi-final of the men's 3-cushion carom billiards event of the 2025 World Games (held in Chengdu, China). This is considered a big challenge for Vietnam's number 1 player in his journey to win his first World Games medal. The Korean prodigy has been in good form recently.

Tran Quyet Chien and Cho Myung-woo chase until the last minute

However, Cho Myung-woo was surprisingly slow to start the game. Even when holding white, the Korean player missed his start. After 5 rounds, Tran Quyet Chien and Cho Myung-woo both scored 4 points.

In the 6th turn, Tran Quyet Chien had a series of 7 points to take the lead 11-5. On the other side, it was not until the 12th turn that Cho Myung-woo had a series of 10 points to equalize the score 17-17.

PHOTO: THE WORLD GAMES

In the 13th turn, Tran Quyet Chien scored 5 points to lead 24-17, bringing the match into the break. Cho Myung-woo continued to show his ability to score very neatly when he had another series of 9 points, once again re-establishing balance with the Vietnamese player, tying 27-27.

After 18 turns, Tran Quyet Chien led 32-29. In the 19th turn, Cho Myung-woo had a series of 5 to once again surpass Vietnam's number 1 player, leading 34-32. Once again, Quyet Chien restored balance, when the score of the two players was 34-34.

Vietnamese players are unlucky.

The match became more tense in the final points. After 21 shots, Tran Quyet Chien and Cho Myung-woo were tied at 37-37. On the 22nd shot, Tran Quyet scored 2 points to reach 39 points and was unlucky in the situation right after that, when the cue ball unfortunately went into the hole. Cho Myung-woo took advantage of the opportunity to score 3 points to win the final score 40-39.

Despite a regrettable loss in the semi-finals, Tran Quyet Chien still has a chance to compete for a bronze medal at the 2025 World Games. The third-place match will take place at 4 p.m. on August 13.