World No. 1 Billiards Player Drops Out at Hanoi Open

When the score was 5-5 in the match on the morning of October 11, Gorst hit the 5 ball in the straight angle. When he had another chance to run the 6 ball, the Russian-American player hit it out of the hole, giving his opponent a chance to finish the game.

But before the Filipino player stood up to play, Gorst suddenly came out to shake his hand and conceded the match.

When Aranas asked why, Gorst pointed to his head and implied that he had a headache. While waiting for his turn to play, the 24-year-old player also kept his head down or covered his face with his hands. Sometimes while playing, he also shook his head continuously or blinked his eyes. In recent days, in addition to competing in the Hanoi Open, Gorst has also played exhibitions and interacted with fans.

"What's going on?", the channel commentator asked.Matchroomsaid. "It seemed like Gorst said he was tired or something, not angry with himself. I've never seen Gorst give up like that before. In my career, I've only given up once. It's understandable why Aranas didn't want to win this way."

According to doctors at the stadium, Gorst had stomach or colon pain and needed to go to the hospital for a check-up.

Gorst, 24, the 2019 and 2024 world 9-ball champion, is the number one player, with more than $450,000 in prize money this year alone. Meanwhile, second-placed Eklent Kaci has only $160,000 in prize money. Kaci stopped before reaching the knockout round, while Gorst retired in the first match of the Hanoi Open knockout round. Therefore, he is considered to have lost 0-10.

The Hanoi Open took place from October 8-13 at the Hanoi Indoor Athletics Palace, with a prize fund of $200,000, including $30,000 for the champion. More than 200 players competed in the double qualifying round, where Gorst won all three matches against Nguyen Hoang Phong, Nguyen Duc Thang and Antonios Kakaris. The knockout round featured 64 players, including eight Vietnamese representatives.