Vietnam enters world team billiards final

In the semi-final match against the US today, March 24, Quyet Chien will face Raymon Groot, while Phuong Vinh will meet Hugo Patino. Both US players are outside the world's Top 50, and have never won a medal at the world level. Therefore, Vietnam is considered to be the better team, with both players being the current World Cup and World Championship champions.

Quyet Chien showed his class as the world's number two player, with a 40-19 victory after 22 shots. But at the next table at the same time, Phuong Vinh lost to Patino 36-40 after 28 shots. Due to the draw, the two teams had to play a tie-break on the same table.

The US led 5-1 in the tie-break, but Vietnam came back to lead 12-8. Patino and Groot once again took the lead 13-12. However, Quyet Chien and Phuong Vinh's class was shown at the right time, with three decisive points to win 15-13 after 11 innings. This was the second consecutive match that Vietnam advanced on a tie-break, after beating Belgium 15-3 in the quarter-finals a day earlier.

As usual, when they knew for sure that the ball's trajectory would be the deciding point, Quyet Chien and Phuong Vinh cheered and high-fived each other. The victory over the US was a breath-taking one, because the opponent was only two points away from winning, but missed the ball by just a few centimeters.

The final is scheduled to take place from 11pm today, Hanoi time, when Vietnam will face either Japan or Spain. Japan has won the tournament four times, while Spain has never won.

The World 3-Cushion Team Carom Championship takes place annually, first in 1981. After 35 editions, Sweden has the most achievements with nine championships, followed by Türkiye with seven titles. History has only recorded eight championships, including two Asian representatives, Japan and South Korea.

This year's tournament takes place from March 21 to March 24 in Viersen, Germany. Each team has two players, playing on two adjacent tables, up to 40 points of equal cue. If there is a tie, the two teams play a tie-break in a doubles format, alternating on the same table, up to 15 points of disparity.

Quyet Chien, 40 years old, is the world's number two player and has won the World Cup three times. Phuong Vinh, 29 years old, has only been competing internationally for nearly two years, causing a surprise with the 2023 World Championship and is currently ranked eighth in the world. This is the first time Phuong Vinh has participated in the tournament, and together with Quyet Chien, helped Vietnam advance to the quarterfinals for the first time.