Vietnamese player wins big against world champion

Quoc Hoang was allowed to clear the ball first and won the first two games without letting his opponent make any moves, including the second game when he cleared the 9 ball. The 36-year-old made no mistakes and took advantage of every small opportunity to clear the table continuously, leading 7-0. Szewczyk only managed to recover one game, before losing the next four games in a row and accepting a 1-11 defeat. This was the first time Quoc Hoang had reached the round of 16 of the world tournament.

"What a brilliant performance," said Matchroom commentator of Quoc Hoang's win. "I hope he speaks English to comment on the match for us. A masterclass in nine-ball pool."

Previously, in the round of 32, Quoc Hoang eliminated Hong Kong young talent Lo Ho Sum with a score of 11-5. Player Luong Duc Thien stopped in this round when he lost to John Morra 8-11, receiving 1,500 USD. Meanwhile, Nguyen Anh Tuan beat world number 17 Konrad Juszczyszyn 11-7 in the round of 32, but lost to Denis Grobe 5-11 in the round of 16 and received 3,000 USD. Quoc Hoang is the only Vietnamese player to enter the round of 16, and will earn at least 6,000 USD in prize money.

The World Pool Championship has been held annually since 1990. American player Earl Strickland is the most successful with three championships, while "Wizard" Efren Reyes won once in 1999. The best achievement of Vietnamese players at the tournament is the quarterfinals, belonging to Luong Chi Dung in 2006 and Do The Kien in 2019. This year's tournament takes place from February 1 to February 5 in Kielce, Poland with 128 players, and a prize fund of 325,000 USD.

Quoc Hoang, born in 1987, is the only Vietnamese player in the world's Top 100. He made a splash when he crushed master Jayson Shaw 9-0 at the 2018 Beijing Open.

According to VnExpress