Vietnamese billiards prodigy wants to compete with 'new Efren Reyes' in billion-dollar pool tournament

The Ho Chi Minh City Open 2024 International 9-ball Billiards Pool Tournament kicked off on September 20, with 128 players competing in the qualifying round. The home player Nguyen Dang Tuyen was a phenomenon in the qualifying round, reaching the finals and receiving 2,000 USD (about 49 million VND) for the runner-up position.

It is known that Dang Tuyen is only 20 years old (born in 2004) and started seriously practicing 9-ball pool billiards 4 years ago. Right in his first time participating in an international tournament like Ho Chi Minh City Open 2024, this very young player left a deep impression on fans. He also made the audience remember him with his beautiful ball jumping moves and continuous spectacular comebacks against famous players in the round of 16 (being down 3-8 and winning 9-8 against a young talent from the Philippines), the quarter-finals (being down 3-6 and winning 9-7 against a Vietnamese player). In the semi-final of the qualifying round, Dang Tuyen continued to win a thrilling 9-8 against a veteran player from the pool powerhouse of the Philippines.

Nguyen Dang Tuyen became a phenomenon in the qualifying round and is expected to continue to explode in the final round of Ho Chi Minh City Open 2024.

Talking about his journey to conquer the qualifying round, Dang Tuyen shared: "When I lost in the final round, I felt very regretful. But when I calmed down, I felt proud, because I had done my best.

Finishing as runner-up in the qualifying round, Dang Tuyen is among the top 32 players to qualify for the final round of the Ho Chi Minh City Open 2024 (starting from September 25). The player born in 2004 will have the opportunity to compete with many seniors of Vietnamese pool billiards such as Pham Phuong Nam, Luong Duc Thien, Luong Chi Dung... and especially the current top faces in the world such as Alexander Kazakis (Greece, world number 2), Denis Grade (Estonia, world number 3), Carlo Biado (Philippines, world number 4), Wu Kun Lin (Taiwan, world number 7)...

Carlo Biado is considered the "new Efren Reyes" of Philippine billiards.

Carlo Biado is considered the "new Efren Reyes" of Philippine billiards. He has won all four of the most prestigious championships: 2017 World 9-ball Pool Championship, 2021 US Open Championship, 2022 World Team Championship, and 2024 World 10-ball Championship.

Being present in the final round of a world-class tournament, Dang Tuyen expressed: "Up to now, I still do not expect anything. I just want to be able to compete at my best in the final round, thereby having the opportunity to compete and learn from the experience of high-level players at home and abroad."

The top pool players from Vietnam and the world are present at Ho Xuan Huong Stadium.

Alexander Kazakis (2nd from right) is currently ranked 2nd on the World Pool Billiards Association (WPA) rankings.

The 20-year-old Vietnamese player wishes that he could compete with his favorite player in this tournament, Carlo Biado. "Before the final round, I was a little nervous, but I feel more confident. Among the players participating in this tournament, I really admire Carlo Biado. I wish that I could meet Biado in the final match," Dang Tuyen laughed because he knew that this would be very difficult to do.

The final round of the Ho Chi Minh City Open 2024 has 128 players competing, starting from September 25 at Ho Xuan Huong Stadium (District 3, Ho Chi Minh City). The total prize value of the final round is up to 110,000 USD (about 2.7 billion VND). Of which, the champion receives 35,000 USD (equivalent to 861 million VND), the runner-up receives 13,000 USD (about 319 million VND), and the third place receives 5,000 USD (about 123 million VND)/person. In addition, the top 8 receives 3,000 USD, the top 16 receives 1,600 USD, the top 32 receives 800 USD and the top 64 receives 450 USD.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/than-dong-billiards-viet-nam-muon-so-tai-efren-reyes-moi-o-giai-pool-tien-ti-185240924200814232.htm