Vietnam enters quarterfinals of world team carom 3-cushion

World No. 17 Nguyen Duc Anh Chien in a match against Wesley de Jaeger in Viersen, Germany at the world 3-cushion carom team tournament on the evening of March 10, 2023. Photo: billard1

Vietnam could not afford to lose to Belgium in the final round to secure a place in Group D, but the team fell into a difficult situation when Tran Quyet Chien lost to Peter de Backer 33-40 after 27 innings in the game that ended early. In the remaining game, if Anh Chien did not beat Jaeger, Vietnam would be eliminated and Belgium would advance.

Anh Chien was always ahead of Jaeger in this game, but not by a large margin. In the final moments, the number two player in Vietnam was reduced to two points, at 37-35. The two players continuously missed points or missed shots, causing the match to last nearly two hours.

The drama came when Jaeger was down 35-39 and it was his turn to play, but the player let time run out without making a move. The referee determined it was a foul, and placed the ball in the original position for Anh Chien to score 40 points. Jaeger was forced to score five points on the final shot for Belgium to advance, but he only scored two points and lost 37-40 after 45 shots and 111 minutes of play.

According to the tournament rules, each player has 40 seconds to think about his shot. This time is counted from the time the opponent sits down on the chair and the balls stop rolling until the cue ball has to be touched by the cue ball.

Anh Chien's victory helped Vietnam draw 1-1 with Belgium, securing second place in Group D with three points, from one win, one draw and one loss. Sweden topped the group with five points, while Belgium finished third with three draws, also with three points like Vietnam but with a lower secondary index. The deciding index here was the highest score (high run - HR), when Vietnam reached 17 points thanks to Quyet Chien's streak against Austrian player Arnim Kahofer. Belgium's HR in three group stage matches was only 7 points.

With four matches remaining in Groups A and B, Vietnam’s quarter-final opponents have yet to be decided. The first four teams to advance to the quarter-finals are Vietnam, Sweden (Group D), Spain and the Netherlands (Group C). The final group stage matches will take place at 5pm and 7:30pm today, March 11, Hanoi time. The quarter-final matches will begin at 11pm the same day.

The eight teams that advance from the group stage will be ranked in order of match points, game points and HR. The first team will meet the eighth team in the quarterfinals, as will the 2-7, 3-6 and 4-5 pairs.

Vietnam's best achievement in the tournament is also the quarter-finals, most recently in 2022. At that time, the team had the best performance in the group stage, but lost to host Germany in the quarter-finals. Sweden is the most successful in the tournament with nine championships, while Turkey is second with six titles and is also the defending champion.

The World 3-Cushion Team Carom Championship began in 1981 and has now run for 35 editions. Since 1990, the tournament has always taken place in Viersen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. This year's 2023 tournament will take place from March 9 to March 12 with 16 teams, each sending two players with high positions on the UMB ranking table.

According to VnExpress