Drama, excitement, enthusiasm and surprise were the emotions of most players as well as a large number of guests and fans from 17 media agencies and more than 10 close partners who witnessed nearly 2 days of competition at the 2nd Thanh Nien Open 3-Cushion Billiards Tournament in 2023. Player Nguyen Hoang Yen Nhi, the current national champion in the women's 3-Cushion event, said that although she is a professional and won first prize in this tournament to celebrate Journalists' Day, she had to sweat in many matches to win, and it was not easy against amateur players from the press.

Typically, in the semi-final match, Yen Nhi said: "I really went through moments when I thought I would be eliminated when I lost to Huy Hoang, the player who was the reigning champion of the Thanh Nien billiard tournament last year. I lost the first game and entered the second game in a rather heavy mood because of the pressure because after all, I was the national women's champion, while my opponent was very comfortable. I was lucky that in the second game, I took advantage of my opponent's broken cues twice to tie the score and from there, my spirit rose again, helping me enter the deciding game more confidently and from there ending the match in a thrilling way."

In the same mood as her colleague Yen Nhi who flew in from Da Nang, the beautiful player Luong Thi Thom from Gia Lai, who won third place, also said: "I was very nervous when many matches were so tense because I did not expect the level of players in the press to be quite good, many of them played very well. Like Minh Truc of Nhan Dan Newspaper, who alone defeated a series of female players like Yen Sinh and Lien Quynh. I myself also encountered many difficulties when I lost to Minh Tam of Nhan Dan Newspaper and had to stop in the semi-finals". Another female player, Phung Kien Tuong, also confided her feelings: "I have many times gone deep in the national tournament and SEA Games, winning high rankings, but in the Thanh Nien Open tournament, even though I only played with players who had little time to practice professionally like me, I also overcame "death's door" many times. There were times when my blood sugar dropped and I had to use a booster to be able to stand firmly".

It must be said that the tournament not only creates an interesting and meaningful playground on June 21 for journalists and high-class female players as well as invited partners, but also helps the organizers to raise the level of orientation that can develop the tournament more strongly in the future. Mr. Nguyen Minh Thuan, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Viet Value Valuation Company said: "I still wish that the tournament becomes a PBA tour to strongly attract the participation of players and at the same time enhance the strength of a grassroots playground. I also want the Organizing Committee in the near future to invite more professional male players to organize a separate tournament and possibly expand to invite international players. Of course, the biggest problem is still funding. Hopefully the country's economic situation will improve in the near future so that everything will be more favorable...".

This tournament witnessed two veteran players, Duong Hoang Anh, runner-up of ASIAD 2002 and Ly The Vinh, champion of SEA Games 1997. The final results were champion: Nguyen Hoang Yen Nhi (female player), second place: Nguyen Minh Tam ( Nhan Dan Newspaper), third place: Nguyen Huy Hoang (VOV), Luong Thi Thom (female player). The player with the most points in one cue: Nguyen Duc Yen Sinh (female player) with 7 points. The most impressive player: Nguyen Le Lien Quynh (Gia Lai currently playing for Binh Duong), Le Thi Ngoc Hue (SEA Games champion). The four players who made it to the quarter-finals: Pham Tuan Lam (HTV), Ly Minh Tan ( Thanh Nien Newspaper), Phung Kien Tuong (SEA Games runner-up) and Nguyen Minh Truc ( Nhan Dan Newspaper).

Some interesting pictures of the tournament