On the evening of October 28, Tran Quyet Chien took a flight to Ho Chi Minh City, ending his journey to conquer the Veghel Billiards World Cup 2024 with a well-deserved championship. Meeting reporters at the airport, Vietnam's No. 1 player showed off the trophy he had just won from the Netherlands. He also shared his feelings after a memorable tournament in his career.

The championship in the Netherlands is the 4th time Tran Quyet Chien has won the 3-cushion carom billiards World Cup. How do you feel now?

After a disappointing period due to poor performance, I prepared quite well both physically and in training for the tournament in the Netherlands. Before leaving, I felt like I was making progress. Progress because I had played so badly before, leading to consecutive losses in different tournaments. I thought back to the Veghel 2024 Billiards World Cup final, the gap between the second semi-final and the final was so short, I only had enough time to eat but no time to rest. However, I tried my best to get the overall victory.

Tran Quyet Chien's opponent in the final is the very strong player Frederic Caudron. This player is very hungry for the championship after leaving PBA to return to UMB. Before going on the court, how did he feel?

Just like the previous finals, I didn't think about anything. Because before the competition, I always thought that my opponent was myself. It didn't matter to me who the opponent was, what mattered was what I could do and how I scored.

Of course, Caudron is one of the best players in the world and can be number one in the world. But in confrontations, I am not inferior. Up to this point, my record against Caudron is still better. When I meet him, I have no fear. I just want to show my best in the match. As I said, my opponent is myself.

In the round of 32 of the Veghel 2024 World Cup, Tran Quyet Chien had a brilliant match when he won 40-3 in just 9 innings, achieving an extremely high efficiency of 4,444 points/inning. Can you share about this match?

In that match, I met the home team player, Glenn Hofman of the Netherlands. I was in the same group with 2 teammates, who were also my 2 younger brothers: Tran Thanh Luc and Le Thanh Tien. My match with Glenn Hofman could also decide the fate of my 2 teammates. If I won, Thanh Luc or Thanh Tien would advance. I tried my best to finish the match as quickly as possible, so that Luc and Tien could compete comfortably.

Tran Quyet Chien is the most anticipated player of Vietnamese 3-cushion billiards, but he was not in good form before the 2024 Veghel World Cup. So, has this championship relieved the pressure for him?

After the 2024 World Championship in Binh Thuan in September, I understood why I played so badly. I tried to fix that, improving every day to win the World Cup in the Netherlands.

After winning the title in the Netherlands, Tran Quyet Chien has returned to the world's top 2. What does this position mean to you?

Position number 2, number 3, number 1, or number 10 are just numbers, nothing important. In the past, I was also number 1 in the world. For me now, the positions on the rankings are just numbers, nothing to be stressed about. Maybe the fans were proud when a Vietnamese player once reached the number 1 position in the world. It doesn't matter if it was once or now, it's okay. I will try to do it one more time. In life, with personal development, everyone hopes to do something great. We must try to continue to strive for a certain goal.

Do you feel sorry for Nguyen Tran Thanh Tu, when this player lost to Caudron in the semi-finals?

Thanh Tu played very well in the quarterfinals, when he beat Dick Jaspers (Dutch, world number 1 - PV) with an index of nearly 4.0. That was his good form in this tournament. But when facing Caudron, if you make many mistakes, your opponent will take advantage to win. This is Thanh Tu's development. Hopefully in the future, he will perform even better and achieve even higher results.

Tran Quyet Chien will attend the Seoul World Cup in Korea from November 4 to 10. What is his goal?

I think I will need quite a long time to rest. I have been concentrating very hard in a big tournament, very tough. Now I am quite tired. After resting, I will continue to practice and try to go as far as possible in the upcoming tournament in Korea.

Thank you for the interview.