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The victory in France continues Chien's remarkable dominance over Caudron, the 57-year-old star known as "The Extraterrestrial". Despite Caudron’s staggering resume, which includes two World Championships (1999 and 2013), 21 World Cup titles, 13 European titles and 53 Belgian national championships, he has struggled against the Vietnam number one player in recent years.
With this latest win, Chien, 42, has emerged victorious in their last six encounters, a streak that includes high-profile wins at the 2018 LG Cup final, the 2018 Ho Chi Minh City World Cup semi-final, the 2024 World Cup group stage, the 2024 World Cup Tour final and the 2025 Masters final.
Chien played with confidence and clinical precision in the French final on Sunday night (local time). Minimizing errors throughout the match, he recorded a high run of eight points and maintained a relentless scoring pace to overwhelm Caudron 50-15 in just 18 innings. His performance yielded an impressive efficiency of 2.667 points per inning, leaving the Belgian maestro with no room to mount a comeback.
The winning shot by Tran Quyet Chien in the match against Frederic Caudron at the 2025 Blois 3-Cushion Challenge in France on Dec. 21, 2025.
Upon scoring the championship point, an emotional Chien celebrated with a jump, raising his cue in triumph before kissing it as his teammates cheered from the stands.
His compatriot, Tran Thanh Luc, finished in third place, earning 12,000 euros.
Organized by the World Union of Billiards (UMB), the tournament took place from Dec. 18 to 21 at the Eric Tabarly Sports Complex in Blois, France. It invited the top 24 players in the UMB rankings to compete for a total prize fund of 202,000 euros.
Vietnam fielded a strong roster of four players: Chien, Luc, Bao Phuong Vinh and Chiem Hong Thai. Vinh and Thai exited after the group stage.
Luc was beaten by Caudron, while Chien advanced after an impressive victory over Eddy Merckx, setting the stage for his title-winning performance.
