Quyet Chien and Thanh Tu entered the semi-finals of the World Cup billiards

For the third time in history, Vietnam has at least two players in the World Cup semi-finals, and in the previous two times Quyet Chien was crowned in Ho Chi Minh City in 2018 and Porto in 2023.

This time, Vietnam's number one player defeated compatriot Thanh Luc with a score of 50-33/30 (50-33 points after 30 turns) in the quarter-finals.

After the first 17 rounds, Thanh Luc played inconsistently and had many blank points, and no series had more than two points.

Quyet Chien had many streaks of three and then five points, leading 29-15. The 34-year-old player then played better, narrowing the gap to 32-43.

But in the 29th round, the 41-year-old player went for a 6-point series, the highest of the match, before winning in the 30th round.

This is Quyet Chien's eighth time in the World Cup semi-finals, and if he reaches the final he will reclaim the world number two position from Cho Myung-woo.

Thanh Luc, although unable to reach the World Cup semi-finals, still has a high chance of reaching the Top 10 for the first time in his career.

He will replace Bao Phuong Vinh, and together with Quyet Chien, will be in the group to enter the main round of the World Cup in the next few tournaments.

Not Thanh Luc, but Thanh Tu entered the World Cup semi-finals for the first time, after eliminating world number one player Jaspers 50-33/14.

The 29-year-old player's performance in this match reached 3.571 points per shot, the highest in the knockout round. The home player also impressed with a series of 15 points and an average of 2.538 points, but still not enough to defend the championship.

Thanh Tu and Jaspers were evenly matched until the fifth turn when the world number one led 10-9, the Vietnamese representative scored a series of 14 points and led 23-10.

But in the sixth turn, right after the break, Jaspers created a 15-point streak, leading 27-25 again. The Dutch audience applauded continuously, but there were rarely cheers like when the tournament took place in Vietnam.

Thanh Tu, born in 1995, is only ranked 46th in the world and had to play from the preliminary round. However, in the eighth round, he surprised everyone with a series of 9 points and led 34-28.

This was the decisive "blow" from the Vietnamese representative, causing Jaspers to almost lose form and only score 5 points in the remaining seven rounds. Thanh Tu ended the match with a 6-point series, then threw his knees and fists into the air to the applause of most of the audience.

In the previous round of 16 on October 25, all three Vietnamese players won. Quyet Chien defeated Cha Myeong-jong 50-36/28, Thanh Tu defeated Sameh Sidhom 50-42/31, and Thanh Luc defeated Tolgahan Kiraz 50-20/28.

The semi-finals take place today, October 26, when Thanh Tu meets former world number one Frederic Caudron at 3:30 p.m. Hanoi time, while Quyet Chien plays Peter Ceulemans two hours later. The final will take place the same day.