Player Thanh Luc finished second in the World Championship

Unlike his excellent performance when he defeated world number one Dick Jaspers 50-32 in the semi-finals, the home player did not start well in the championship match. After five turns, he did not score any points, allowing Cho to lead 11-0. It was not until the sixth turn that Thanh Luc scored three points.

On the contrary, Cho showed his class as the world's number five player when he hit strong shots to score points regularly. The 26-year-old player led Thanh Luc 16-3, 21-5 and then 25-10 before the break.

Despite the support of the home crowd, Thanh Luc lost his composure, making many mistakes, sometimes lacking and sometimes having too much force, leading to missing the target ball. Meanwhile, Cho only missed one shot, the rest, scored 2-5 points each shot to widen the gap to 27-12, 32-12, then 35-13, 38-14.

It was not until the 18th turn that Thanh Luc scored nine points, narrowing the gap to 23-38. But when hope was rekindled, he continuously missed shots afterwards. Cho played better and better with unbelievable scoring moves that made the home audience applaud. The Korean player scored two consecutive series of points to end the match with a score of 50-23 after 20 turns.

Although he lost the final, this was a successful tournament and a memorable milestone in Thanh Luc's career. Before this tournament, the 34-year-old player from Phu Giao, Binh Duong had never reached the semi-finals of a world tournament. His best achievement was the silver medal at the 2023 Asian Championship, when he lost to Cho in the final.

Thanh Luc was not highly rated at the 2024 World Championship at home, when domestic fans were expecting Tran Quyet Chien, Bao Phuong Vinh or Tran Duc Minh. But after the stars were gradually eliminated, Thanh Luc became the hope for the home team and reached the final match.

The runner-up position also helped him receive 20,000 euros (about 500 million VND) and 81 bonus points. Thanks to that, Thanh Luc jumped from 21st in the world to 14th.

"The runner-up position is a result beyond my imagination, so I am very happy. However, I also have some regrets about not being able to keep the championship cup in Vietnam," Thanh Luc said.

According to this player, the journey through the 2024 World Championship has given him many lessons. Thanh Luc admitted that the losses to Kiraz in the group stage and Cho in the final showed that he needed to adjust both his expertise and mentality to aim for the next tournaments.

The new champion, Cho Myung Woo, is 25 years old and is considered a prodigy in 3-cushion billiards in Korea. Cho was once number one in the world, but is currently ranked fifth ahead of the 2024 World Championship. After winning the championship and receiving 40,000 euros and 120 bonus points, he rose to number two in the world, just behind Jaspers.

The 2024 World Championship will take place in Phan Thiet, Binh Thuan from September 25 to 29. This is the 76th time the tournament has been held, organized by the World Billiards Federation in collaboration with the Vietnam Billiards & Snooker Federation for the first time in Vietnam. The tournament attracts 48 top players from countries around the world. Vietnam has 7 players participating, including Bao Phuong Vinh (reigning champion), Tran Quyet Chien, Tran Duc Minh, Tran Thanh Luc, Chiem Hong Thai, Nguyen Van Tai, and Le Thanh Tien.