Tran Thanh Luc triumphs at Bogota World Cup 3-Cushion 2025
VOV.VN - Billiards player Tran Thanh Luc (Vietnam) has won the Bogota World Cup 3-Cushion after defeating World No.1 Dick Jaspers (Netherlands), and former world champion Tasdemir Tayfun (Turkey) in a thrilling tournament that concluded early in Colombia on March 3.
In the semifinal, Luc faced Jaspers, a player with whom he has had favorable results in the past. The match started with Jaspers playing aggressively, scoring multiple series of points, and quickly gaining a lead of 24-10.
However, Luc began to find his rhythm, scoring series of 5, 4, 3, and 2 points to close the gap to 24-25 by the 13th inning. He then made a series of 5 points followed by 7 points, overtaking Jaspers with a 40-28 lead. The Vietnamese player completed the comeback with a 50-37 victory.
In the final, Luc played Tayfun, the 2022 World Champion. From the start, Luc took control, leading throughout the match. In the 13th inning, with a 15-12 lead, he scored a 7-point series to extend his advantage to 22-12.
Maintaining his lead, Luc reached 49-40 and had the chance to finish the match. However, a missed shot caused a tense moment as Tayfun scored a 7-point series, narrowing the score to 47-49.
Luc then had a few tense innings but managed to close out the game, scoring a beautiful 3-cushion shot to win 50-47, claiming his first World Cup title.
As a result of his win, the Vietnamese player earned 80 ranking points and moved from 11th to 5th in the world.
Luc is the third Vietnamese player to win a World Cup title, following in the footsteps of Tran Quyet Chien and Tran Duc Minh, alongside Bao Phương Vinh, who won the World Championship.
Chien takes world three-cushion billiards trophy
Vietnamese player Tran Quyet Chien secured the UMB Veghel World Cup Three-Cushion 2024 trophy after a decisive 50-38 win over Belgian legend Frederic Caudron on October 26 in the Netherlands.
