Ban on Vietnamese billiards players unjustified: PBA vice president

The Vietnam Billiards & Snooker Federation announced on July 30 that its members were banned from participating in tournaments by the Asian Confederation of Billiards Sports (ACBS), the World Pool Association (WPA) and the International Billiards and Snooker Federation for six months from July 13, 2024.

The reason given was that Vietnam organized the Hanoi Open pool tournament in October 2023.

The event was not authorized by the Asian confederation since it was part of the World Nineball Tour (WNT) organized by Matchroom Pool, an organization at loggerheads with the WPA.

The carom version of the Hanoi Open held in August 2024 by the Professional Billiards Association, opposed by the Asian Confederation of Billiards Sports and the World Billiards Union, is also a reason for the ban.

The disciplinary action has sparked off a major debate in the billiards community, with famous players such as Shane Van Boening, Jyson Shaw and Francisco Sanchez threatening to boycott World Pool Association tournaments unless the ban is lifted.

This caused the federation to promise an online meeting with those players.

Matchroom Pool and the PBA have expressed disappointment and said the Asian confederation exceeded its authority and hindered the development of Vietnamese billiards.

PBA vice president Lee Hee-jin. Photo by PBA

Lee called the ban "unjustified and unreasonable" in an interview with VnExpress, saying the two Hanoi tournaments were organized by the Hanoi Billiards & Snooker Federation, which is not a member of the Vietnam Billiards & Snooker Federation (VBSF).

"Vietnam was punished because it could not prevent tournaments that are not part of the Asian tour from taking place in the country.

"However, this is something the VBSF cannot control because it is not the authority that grants the license to organize the tournaments. It is the People's Committee of the city."

He said Vietnam should have responded to the Asian confederation to handle the situation instead of meekly accepting the ban.

It should have pointed out that China and the Philippines also organize Matchroom Pool tournaments and South Korea organizes the PBA Tour, but the Asian federation has never issued a ban on those federations, he said.

Vietnamese player Nguyen Quoc Nguyen, terming the ban "unfair," said: "The VBSF is on par with South Korea and China. If the Asian federation bans Vietnam, it needs to ban the other countries as well."

Vietnamese player Nguyen Quoc Nguyen competes at the Hanoi Open 2024. Photo by PBA

The various billiards associations have tried to cooperate, but their efforts have not lasted long.

The WPA and World Nineball Tour have joined hands to organize many tournaments, but their collaboration ended in 2023 when the former held the Qatar Open from Oct. 4 to 10 and the latter the Hanoi Open from Oct. 10 to 15, forcing many players to choose between the two.

The PBA held three meetings with the world billiards union UMB in 2018, 2019 and 2023 and was asked to sponsor an annual amount of money.

"We are willing to provide it on mutually beneficial terms," Lee said. "But we feel that UMB is using that money to hinder the development of the PBA."

The PBA vice president said his association has shown a receptive and positive attitude, and the ball is in the UMB’s court.

He said most star carom players come from South Korea and Vietnam, and so the UMB wants to ensure it has authority in these two countries.

But the PBA is all-powerful in South Korea and started to grow in Vietnam, and does not hide its ambition to expand to Europe and America.

The UMB's tough stance is also said to have changed.

In 2019, when the PBA organized its first tournament in South Korea, 850 participating players were banned from participating in UMB tournaments for two years.

This year 350 Vietnamese players participated in the PBA Tour qualifying round in HCMC, but the UMB did not penalize them.

"I think the UMB is tired," Lee said.

Despite being banned, the PBA entered Vietnam and, six years later, has grown and has a voice in the community, he claimed.

"The UMB must realize that the ban is meaningless and it needs to have a more open attitude so that we can cooperate."

Vietnamese player Bao Phuong Vinh at the Three-Carom World Championship in Ankara, Turkey on Sept. 10, 2023. Photo by UMB

The PBA's strengths are prize money, promotion capability and competition format.

The championship prize for men in a PBA Tour stage is around $75,000, three times higher than for the UMB World Cup.

On billiards forums, Vietnamese fans think that it is easier to access and watch the PBA Tour than UMB events.

While the Hanoi Open qualifiers held in HCMC attracted 350 players, the UMB World Championship only had 130.

The PBA competition format is played in sets, considered to create more pressure thus making it more compelling to watch.

The format creates opportunities for women and junior players while the UMB rules favor veteran players.

The PBA does not prohibit its players from participating in UMB tournaments, but the UMB does so.

While Nguyen understands the UMB’s need to enforce its regulations, the 42-year-old, who was runner-up at the 3-Cushion World Cup in 2017, also hopes the various associations can find a common voice for the development of the sport.