Billiards: Tran Quyet Chien sprints at lightning speed, defeating World Cup champion Bogota

On the evening of August 4, Tran Quyet Chien faced Tran Thanh Luc in the knockout round (16 players), HBSF Billiards Tournament, Stage 2, 2025. This is considered the early final of the tournament, as both are the top players in Vietnam at the moment and both own the World Cup Billiards championship title. In which, Tran Thanh Luc is the current world runner-up (2024), and just won the World Cup Billiards Bogota - Colombia in March.

Tran Quyet Chien has series 9, creating a turning point in the match

The match was exciting, with the two players chasing each other for points. In the first half, from being held back by Thanh Luc in the early stages, Tran Quyet Chien created a highlight with 2 series of 5s. Quyet Chien rose to lead 11-9, then 19-14. The player from Ha Tinh brought the match into halftime in the 10th turn, leading 22-15 against Tran Thanh Luc.

The game became more dramatic in the second half. Right after the break, Tran Thanh Luc launched a series of 8, equalizing the score to 24-24 with his senior. At this time, Tran Quyet Chien sensed the danger, played with concentration and had a spectacular sprint. In the 13th round, Vietnam's number 1 player had a series of 9, increasing the score gap to 37-24.

PHOTO: TB

Tran Thanh Luc could only shorten the gap to 32-37 after the 15th round. The match ended in the 16th round, with the final victory belonging to Tran Quyet Chien, when the final score was 40-32. Winning this match, Tran Quyet Chien won a ticket to the quarter-finals of the HBSF billiards tournament, round 2, 2025.

In the match at the same time, Nguyen Nhat Hoa defeated Ngo Le Duy with a score of 40-38. Thus, Tran Quyet Chien will face Nguyen Nhat Hoa in the quarterfinals, taking place on the morning of August 5.

The remaining quarter-final matches are: Ho Hoang Hung meets Dinh Quang Hai, Tran Manh Hung meets Nguyen Nhu Le, Nguyen Tran Thanh Tu meets Bao Phuong Vinh

Notably, the competition day of August 4 witnessed Tran Thanh Luc's "huge" series of 18 points in the group stage. Tran Thanh Luc stopped in the round of 16, but the player born in 1990 temporarily took the lead in the secondary award for the highest series.