Lithuanian player wins 'major' Hanoi Open Pool Championship 2025

Despite having to postpone the first day of competition due to the weather, the Hanoi Open Pool Championship 2025 (October 8-12) at My Dinh Indoor Athletics Stadium was still a success with the participation of 256 of the world's top players, including many prestigious champions in the World Nineball Tour (WNT) system.

With a total prize value of 200,000 USD, of which the champion received 40,000 USD, the tournament brought to Vietnamese audiences a professional, passionate and dramatic competition atmosphere.

The final day of competition witnessed the semi-finals and finals of the highest level of expertise. In the first semi-final, Pijus Labutis defeated young talent Robbie Capito (Hong Kong, China) with a score of 11 - 8. Meanwhile, Moritz Neuhausen, the 2025 Peri Open champion, easily defeated Harry Vergara (Philippines) 11 - 4 to qualify for the final.

The final match between Labutis and Neuhausen took place immediately afterwards in front of nearly 2,000 spectators at My Dinh, in a passionate atmosphere - a familiar "specialty" of Hanoi Open Pool.

Both players started the game cautiously, fighting for each point. When the score was tied at 4-4, Labutis suddenly broke through with steady form and precise cleans, leading 10-4. Neuhausen, despite having few chances to hold the cue, still stubbornly reduced the score to 7-10.

However, at the highest level, a mistake can be costly. A failed 2-ball run on rack 18 led to Neuhausen handing the trophy to Labutis. The Lithuanian stepped up to the table and made it 11-7. Two excellent rack breaks and clears followed to give Labutis a 13-7 victory.

“I felt nervous, I didn’t even believe I could win. Thank you to the Vietnamese fans for creating a great atmosphere, making both me and Neuhausen happy to play here,” Labutis emotionally shared after the match.

The title in Hanoi helped the Lithuanian player break the “semi-final” streak, after 4 times reaching the top 4 but never winning a major tournament. He lifted the Hanoi Open Pool Championship 2025 trophy and the prize of 40,000 USD, a memorable turning point in his career.

A highlight of this year's season comes from Dinh Chan Kiet, the only representative of host Vietnam to make it into the Top 16. Not as highly rated as Duong Quoc Hoang, Luong Duc Thien or Nguyen Anh Tuan, Chan Kiet has created a phenomenon by setting a memorable milestone in his career, becoming the first Vietnamese player to advance deep into a major tournament in the WNT system.

Along with the main tournament, the Hanoi Junior Open 2025 also ended impressively. In the final match, Jack Beggs (New Zealand) defeated Nguyen Tien Trung (Vietnam) 9-7 after a thrilling score chase.

Although he could not win the championship, Tien Trung (a 16-year-old player from Tu Son, Bac Ninh , currently at Dang Thanh Kien's Magics training center) became the first Vietnamese person to reach the Junior Open final after two seasons, opening up many expectations for a talented next generation for Vietnamese pool billiards.