Vietnamese cueists record first win at World Cup of Pool after 17 years
VOV.VN - Local cueists Duong Quoc Hoang and Nguyen Anh Tuan enjoyed their first victory over Abdullah Alyousef and Bader Alawadhi of Kuwait on June 29 at the opening match of the 2023 World Cup of Pool.
The Vietnamese players recorded wins in five consecutive racks to take the lead with a score of 5-0.
In the sixth rack a rare error from the Vietnamese duo helped Kuwait’s rivals earn some points, meaning the pair they quickly shortened the score to 5-3.
However, Alyousef made a mistake in the following rack to create favourable conditions for Vietnamese billiard players to score more points.
Overall, Vietnam recorded a 7-3 win, marking the first victory for Vietnamese cueists in the 17-year history of the World Cup of Pool.
Their opponents in the round 16 will be Jayson Shaw and Elliot Sanderson of the UK.
The World Cup of Pool is an annual international tournament held for 32 pairs representing different nations in the nine-ball pool competition.
This year the tournament takes place in Lugo city of Spain from June 27 to July 2, drawing the participation of 32 pairs from 31 countries worldwide. The total prizes on offer are worth up to US$250,000, including the winners who will pocket US$60,000.
The Spanish team made up of Francisco Sanchez Ruiz and David Alcaide are the defending champions, although they were eliminated by the Philippines in the first round of the 2023 edition of the tournament.
In 2006, Vietnamese pair Luong Chi Dung and Nguyen Thanh Nam earned a spot in the semi-final round and lost to legendary cue master Earl Strickland and Rodney Morris of the United States 7-9. This is the best result of Vietnam ever recorded at the World Cup of Pool.