Billiards: Vietnamese player makes a great shot, wins heart-stopping victory over extremely strong opponent

Representative Nguyen Anh Tuan had a smooth start at the 2025 World Pool Championship, when he won a heart-stopping victory over a very strong opponent.

On July 22, the three remaining representatives of Vietnam at the 2025 World Pool Championship, Nguyen Anh Tuan (also known as Tkon), Pham Phuong Nam and Bui Truong An, entered the first round. Unfortunately, only Anh Tuan was the only one to enjoy the joy of victory.

Tkon beat player ranked 70th

Nguyen Anh Tuan (ranked 84th in the world ) faced a formidable opponent, Pijus Labutis (Lithuania, ranked 14th in the world). The Vietnamese player started the match well and quickly created a big gap. Anh Tuan led with a score of 8-3. Fans also thought that Tkon would have an easy victory against a higher-rated opponent. But at this moment, an unexpected scenario happened.

Nguyen Anh Tuan's beautiful long-distance marble jump shot (Tkon)

Pijus Labutis showed the mettle of a world-class player, winning each game and winning 5 games in a row to tie the score at 8-8. Entering the final game, Tkon regained his composure and won a thrilling 9-8 victory over Pijus Labutis. In this match, Tkon also left his mark with some beautiful performances, including a jump shot that scored from a very long distance.

Meanwhile, Pham Phuong Nam also played well against Aloysius Yapp (Singapore, world No. 2). At one point, Phuong Nam was in a fierce tug-of-war with the Singaporean player. However, Yapp still showed his tenacity and won 9-5 against Phuong Nam.

Nguyen Anh Tuan led 8-3, but won the final heart-stopping match with a score of 9-8.

PHOTO: VNP

Bui Truong An also suffered a regrettable defeat. Specifically, Truong An faced Wiktor Zielinski (Poland, world No. 16) in the opening match. The player nicknamed An Nhiet played quite well when he had a better position and reached the "hill" point (8 wins) first. But unfortunately, at the most important moments, the Vietnamese player lacked a bit of courage to be able to finish the match. On the other hand, Wiktor Zielinski showed that he had no signs of being nervous even though his opponent reached the "hill" first. The balls were handled very precisely as well as accompanied by luck, helping the Polish player successfully reverse the situation, winning 9-8 against Truong An.

Nguyen Anh Tuan will continue to compete in the winners' bracket to qualify for the next round. Meanwhile, the players who lost their opening matches will enter the losers' bracket and must win to keep their hopes of advancing to the 2025 World Pool Championship alive.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/billiards-co-thu-viet-nam-tung-sieu-pham-thang-thot-tim-doi-thu-cuc-manh-185250723003700235.htm