Billiards: With a series of powerful shots to defeat the former world champion, Nguyen Van Tai won the championship.

August 21 witnessed an exciting competition between the best players of the 2025 Million Cup 3-cushion carom billiards tournament, with 2 semi-finals and the final match for the championship. In the semi-finals, Bao Phuong Vinh faced Nguyen Van Tai, while Le Hoang Kim faced Chiem Hong Thai.

16-point series at the beginning of the game

The highlight confrontation between Nguyen Van Tai and Bao Phuong Vinh promised to be fierce, as both players were in good form before. But reality proved the opposite, this encounter took place with a one-sided game in favor of Nguyen Van Tai.

The player from Lam Dong (formerly Binh Thuan ) entered the game at an extremely fast pace. Right in the second turn, Nguyen Van Tai had a series of 6 points to lead Bao Phuong Vinh with a score of 8-7. After the third turn, the gap increased significantly when Van Tai suddenly launched a series of 16 points, leading 24-7.

Faced with his opponent's high form, Bao Phuong Vinh could not recover to catch up. After creating a big advantage, Nguyen Van Tai played very cautiously against Phuong Vinh. In the 20th round, when leading 42-25, Van Tai scored a series of 8 to end the match, winning the final 50-25 against the 2023 3-cushion carom billiards world champion.

Nguyen Van Tai's opponent in the final match is young player Le Hoang Kim. Previously, Hoang Kim defeated Chiem Hong Thai in the semi-finals, with a score of 50-43.

PHOTO: PL

Nguyen Van Tai, with more experience, easily dominated the game against Hoang Kim. The player from Dong Nai did not rush to attack but chose a tight defensive style of play. When he had the opportunity, Van Tai took advantage to score series of 6, 7 points and gradually increased the gap with his opponent.

At the end of the match, when leading 38-24, Van Tai "sprinted" with a series of 9 points, leading 47-24. In the end, Nguyen Van Tai beat Bao Phuong Vinh 50-24, after 24 innings.

PHOTO: PL

Nguyen Van Tai won the tournament championship and received 100 million VND in prize money. In addition, with a series of 16 in the semi-final match against Bao Phuong Vinh, Van Tai also won the prize for the best series of the tournament, receiving 5 million VND.

Le Hoang Kim finished second, receiving 40 million VND. The two third-place players, Bao Phuong Vinh and Chiem Hong Thai, received 20 million VND each.