Thanh Luc defeated the world's number one player and entered the World Championship finals.

About 200 spectators - including many fans from Ho Chi Minh City who came to cheer for Thanh Luc - filled the stadium in Phan Thiet (Binh Thuan). This group of supporters also included Vietnamese players such as Tran Quyet Chien and Bao Phuong Vinh, who continuously shouted praises for Thanh Luc. In response, the world's number 21 player gave an excellent performance, making even Jaspers admire him.

When Thanh Luc gently released the ball to score the decisive 50 points, Jaspers immediately went to shake hands with his opponent and hugged him to congratulate him. After that, the world's number one player waited for Thanh Luc to finish sharing his joy with the home crowd, so he could come over a second time to hug, pat his shoulder and express his admiration for the Vietnamese player.

Jaspers started well. After just three rounds, with successive five-point, four-point and five-point drives, the world number one led Thanh Luc 9-1 and then 14-7.

But Thanh Luc was not deterred. He continued to play gentle strokes, smoothly controlling the cue ball to the target ball. From a losing position, the 34-year-old player scored seven points to tie the score at 14-14. Continuing to excel, Thanh Luc led 17-15 and then hit nine points to lead 26-15 before the break.

After the break, Jaspers scored three points to narrow the gap to 18-26. But Thanh Luc continued to maintain his steady form, scoring four points, then five points to lead 38-19 and then 40-20. From then on, the world's number one player lost his composure, repeatedly making mistakes with the balls, while the home player maintained a solid streak with three points and then four points. Jaspers also had two six-point streaks, narrowing the score to 26-43 and then 32-47, but that was the best he could do. On the 16th turn, Thanh Luc scored three easy points to end the match in the joy of the home crowd.

Thus, Thanh Luc is the only representative of Vietnam in the tournament to make it to the final. The player born in 1991 in Phu Giao, Binh Duong has never made it to the semi-finals of a world tournament, so his participation in the World Championship match today is a big surprise. Before that, he defeated top players such as Tolgahan (group stage), Zanetti (round of 32), (round of 32), Jeremy Bury (quarter-finals).

Thanh Luc's opponent in the final at 5 p.m. today is Cho Myung-woo. Cho is currently ranked fifth in the world and won against Thanh Luc in the final of the 2023 Asian Championship.

The 2024 World Championship takes place in Phan Thiet, Binh Thuan from September 25 to 29, organized for the first time in Vietnam by the World Billiards Federation in collaboration with the Vietnam Billiards & Snooker Federation.

This is the 76th time the tournament has been held. 48 top players from countries around the world, including seven Vietnamese players, are competing. There are 16 groups of three players each, playing a round robin, determining the top two players to advance to the round of 32.

The champion receives 40,000 euros (about 1 billion VND), the first runner-up receives 20,000 euros and the second runner-up is 12,000 euros.