Players Tran Quyet Chien and Bao Phuong Vinh will represent Vietnam in the world 3-cushion carom team tournament in March 2024.
Bao Phuong Vinh (right) in the world 3-cushion carom final with Tran Quyet Chien, in Ankara, Turkey on the evening of September 10, 2023.
The 2024 World Team Championship will still consist of 16 teams, divided into four groups of four teams each, playing a round-robin to select eight teams to enter the quarter-finals, from March 21 to March 24 in the city of Viersen, Germany. Each team will have two players competing, and this year, Quyet Chien will be paired with reigning world champion Phuong Vinh. This is Phuong Vinh's first time participating in the tournament, while Quyet Chien has represented Vietnam in the last five editions.
Vietnam is in Group A with Turkey, Spain and Argentina. Turkey is considered the biggest rival, as they have won the championship three times in a row recently. This rival team includes former world champions Tayfun Tasdemir and Tolgahan Kiraz. Spain is represented by Ruben Legazpi and Sergio Jimenez, while former champion Dani Sanchez has moved to the PBA so he cannot participate in the UMB tournament. Meanwhile, Argentina sent Guillermo Perez and Valentino Oliveto to participate.
Vietnam is the only team with two players in the world's Top 10, according to the UMB rankings. Quyet Chien is currently ranked fifth, while Phuong Vinh is three places behind. However, teams like Turkey, Spain, Germany, Korea and Belgium are still more successful.
The World Team Championship has been held annually since 1990 in Viersen, with places allocated by region. Asia has three places, with Japan joining South Korea and Vietnam. Vietnam first participated in 2018, when the team was eliminated in the group stage. In the last three editions, Quyet Chien and his teammates were eliminated in the quarterfinals, against the Netherlands, Germany and Spain respectively.
Before participating in this tournament, Quyet Chien, Phuong Vinh and the Vietnamese players will compete in the first World Cup of the year in Bogota, Colombia, from February 26 to March 3. This year is also important for Vietnamese billiards, when the first individual world championship takes place in Binh Thuan, September.
TH (according to VnExpress)