Billiards player Quoc Hoang brings more sorrow to the reigning European champion

Quoc Hoang only played one game on the penultimate day of the Reyes Cup 2024, in a team match, against Sanchez as the day before. The Vietnamese player broke the ball, then hid the cue ball at ball number 2, but his a-ball helped the Spanish representative pocket this ball. Sanchez ran for ball number 3, but let the ball expose, allowing Quoc Hoang to finish the game and help Asia take a 2-0 lead in this match.

Sanchez, 33, is a former world number one, currently ranked third, having won the 8-ball world championship in 2022, 9-ball in 2023, and the European championship in 2024. But in the team match on October 16, he lost both games to Quoc Hoang, before losing again on the evening of October 17.

Quoc Hoang, 37, is only ranked 38th in the world and has the lowest position at the 2024 Reyes Cup. But he is shining with the Asian team, winning two matches and three sets in a row, whether in singles, doubles or team play. Quoc Hoang's only defeat came in the first team match of the tournament, with a shot that shook the 7-ball.

In the team match on the evening of October 17, Asia led 4-0, including a situation where Mickey Krause broke the ball and then pocketed eight balls in succession. However, he made a mistake with the 9 ball, and Carlo Biado only had to come to the table and pocket the 9 ball to score. In the end, Asia won 5-1 in this match, raising the tournament score to 8-2.

Europe pulled one point back thanks to Jayson Shaw and Sanchez's win over Johann Chua and Ko Pin Yi. However, the six-point gap between the two teams was restored in the next match, when Aloysius Yapp and Biado defeated Shaw and Eklent Kaci 5-3.

The score after the penultimate day was 9-3 for Asia, and the team was only two wins away from the championship. The doubles match between Duong Quoc Hoang and Ko and Sanchez and Krause was postponed to the final day of October 18, to avoid ending the tournament early. Instead, the organizers arranged an exhibition match between two legends Francisco Bustamante and Jeremy Jones.

The dominance of Asia was also shown by the fact that David Alcaide did not get to play a single time that day. He was supposed to play Ko in a team match, but the Taiwanese player broke the ball and cleared the table.

The Reyes Cup 2024 will take place over four days, from October 15 to October 18, with each team of five players playing 20 matches, with a maximum of nine games per match. The team that wins five games will earn one point, and the team that wins 11 points first will be crowned. The competition day starts from 6:30 p.m. to 11 p.m., Hanoi time.

Third day results

Game 10: Asia 5-1 Europe

Game 11: Jayson Shaw & Francisco Sanchez Ruiz 5-3 Johann Chua & Ko Pin Yi

Game 12: Aloysius Yapp & Carlo Biado 5-3 Jayson Shaw & Eklent Kaci