Billiards: Vietnamese player makes a dramatic comeback, shockingly defeats former world number 1

Two Vietnamese players have won the 2025 World Pool Championship. Among them, Luong Duc Thien created a big surprise when he defeated one of the best players in the world, once ranked number 1, Shane Van Boening.

Matching marbles to beat the former world champion

In the first round of the 9-ball World Pool Championship 2025 (held in Jeddah - Saudi Arabia) which took place late last night, July 21, two Vietnamese players entered the field, Duong Quoc Hoang (nicknamed Hoang Sao) and Luong Duc Thien. In which, Duc Thien "went out and met a mountain" when he faced former champion and world No. 1 American Shane Van Boening (currently ranked 12th in the world).

Luong Duc Thien started the game very well, winning 3 consecutive games to take a 3-0 lead against the veteran American player. Shane Van Boening equalized the score 3-3. Duc Thien led 4-3, then Boening continued to equalize the score 4-4.

Luong Duc Thien made a shot to beat Shane Van Boening

The match then witnessed a fierce tug of war between the two players. However, the wind changed direction when Shane Van Boening took the initiative and continuously led the Vietnamese player. At one point, the former world number 1 took the lead 7-5. Duc Thien tried very hard to equalize the score to 8-8 and bring the match to the "final" set.

In the final game, Luong Duc Thien had the opportunity to combine balls to end the match. The Vietnamese player showed his mettle by combining balls 1 and 4 to put number 9 in the hole, thereby winning a dramatic comeback with a score of 9-8.

Duong Quoc Hoang won the opening match of the 2025 World 9-Ball Championship

PHOTO: WNT

In the remaining match, Duong Quoc Hoang easily won 9-3 against Jj Faul (South Africa). Thus, both Vietnamese players who took the field first won and entered the next round.

Billiards pool match schedule today, July 22

The remaining three Vietnamese players, Nguyen Anh Tuan, Pham Phuong Nam and Buyir Truong An, will compete on the afternoon of July 22.

At 5:00 p.m. on July 22: Nguyen Anh Tuan meets Pijus Labutis (Lithuania, world rank 13), Pham Phuong Nam meets tough opponent Aloysius Yapp (Singapore, world rank 2).

At 6:30 p.m. on July 22: Bui Truong An meets Wiktor Zielinski (Poland, world rank 15).

Competition schedule of Vietnamese players, from the afternoon of July 22

PHOTO: VNP

The tournament is played on a double-elimination basis. The winners advance to the next round of the winners bracket, while the losers are sent to the losers bracket and must win to have any hope of advancing. The qualifying round is a best-of-nine.

The 2025 World Pool Championship is the most prestigious tournament of the year in the world of pool billiards, with a total prize value of up to 1 million USD (equivalent to 26.16 billion VND), the highest in the history of the tournament. Accordingly, the champion of the tournament will pocket a prize of 250,000 USD (about 6.5 billion VND), the runner-up will receive 100,000 USD, the third place will receive 50,000 USD/person...

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/billiards-co-thu-viet-nam-nguoc-dong-nghet-tho-thang-soc-cuu-so-1-the-gioi-18525072210414566.htm