27 Vietnamese billiards players banned for one year

Vietnamese three-cushion player Nguyen Quoc Nguyen. Photo by PBA

The ban was informed by the Vietnam Billiards & Snooker Federation (VBSF) to the Departments of Culture, Sports and Tourism of all localities as well as local federations on Sept. 9.

Under the ban, 128 male players and 64 female players who participated in the Hanoi Open will not be allowed to compete in tournaments under the UMB and their country, from Aug. 27, 2024 to Aug. 27, 2025.

The 2024 Hanoi Open was held from Aug. 19 to 26 in Hanoi. The tournament is part of the Professional Billiards Association (PBA), a rival organization and not recognized by UMB.

Vietnam has 32 male players participating in the event. Of these, five players had already been banned by UMB after they switched to playing for PBA, including Nguyen Quoc Nguyen, Ngo Dinh Nai, Ma Minh Cam, Nguyen Huynh Phuong Linh and Nguyen Duc Anh Chien.

Fifteen out of the remaining 27 players have been ranked on UMB table. Some players have made a name for themselves in the Vietnamese three-cushion community, such as Nguyen Ngoc Tri, Tran Van Ngan, Do Duc Hien and Nguyen Dinh Nui. These players participated in the 2024 Hanoi Open after competing in the qualifying round in Ho Chi Minh City, which attracted 350 players.

Besides Vietnam, the athletes participating in the 2024 Hanoi Open were mostly from South Korea, with some from Japan, Spain, Belgium and Turkey.

Nguyen said he understands the UMB ban, because only when members comply with the regulations can the association maintain and develop. But the 42-year-old also hopes that organizations such as PBA or UMB find a common voice to remove the ban or reduce the level of restriction, which will help athletes participate in more tournaments and further develop the sport.

The UMB ban does not affect the 2024 Three-Cushion World Championship, which will be held in Binh Thuan in central Vietnam from Sept. 25 to 29, when no player on the banned list will participate. This tournament will still gather other top three-cushion players in Vietnam such as Bao Phuong Vinh, Tran Quyet Chien and Tran Duc Minh.

The PBA was established in 2019 in South Korea and created the PBA Tour system for three-cushion competitions. The 2024 Hanoi Open is the first event held abroad by the PBA Tour.

PBA does not ban athletes who participate in UMB tournaments, but UMB does the opposite. Vietnamese athletes who signed up for Hanoi Open knew that they could receive a ban from tournaments organized by UMB, or affiliated units such as VBSF or the Asian Confederation of Billiard Spots (ACBS).

PBA attracted players thanks to its set-based competition format and many opportunities for female and young athletes under 18. The prize money for a men's event the PBA Tour is about $75,000, three times higher than a UMB World Cup tournament. On billiards forums, Vietnamese fans say that it’s easier to access and watch the PBA Tour than UMB.

Previously, on July 30, VBSF announced that its members were banned from participating in tournaments of ACBS, the World Pool Federation (WPA) and the International Billiards & Snooker Federation (ISBF) for six months, from July 13, 2024 to Jan. 12, 2025. The reason given was that Vietnam organized the pool tournament Hanoi Open in October 2023, which was not licensed by ACBS and WPA and instead belongs to the World Nineball Tour (WNT) system of Matchroom Pool, also a rival organization of WPA.

The ban by ACBS, WPA and ISBF led to a big debate in the Vietnamese and international billiards community. Many famous pool players such as Shane Van Boening, Jyson Shaw and Francisco Sanchez demanded the ban be lifted and said they might boycott WPA tournaments. This forced WPA to speak up and reassure that there would be an online meeting to listen to the players. Matchroom and PBA have expressed disappointment, saying that ACBS exceeded its authority and hindered the development of Vietnamese billiards.