Vietnam makes history at world billiards championship

After Vietnam's top player Nguyen Quyet Chien defeated Italy's Marco Zanetti in the quarterfinals on Saturday, a few hours later Bao Phuong Vinh also claimed victory over Pedro Piedrabuena of the U.S.

It was an intense match for Vinh, as Piedrabuena maintained the lead throughout. When Piedrabuena led by 10 points, Vinh gradually shortened the gap. When the score was 42-45, Vinh scored six consecutive points to get ahead, but Piedrabuena quickly scored four more to take back the lead.

However, the final shot from Piedrabuena lacked power and he couldn't finish the game, while Vinh wasted no time to step up and clear the table, securing the 50-49 win.

The 28-year-old raised his fist in the air to celebrate before the last ball went in. When the win was secured, he kissed the Vietnamese flag on his shirt and looked into the camera.

This is the first time that Vinh has made it to the semifinals of a major international tournament, while Chien also advanced to the semifinals of this particular competition for the first time.

The Three-Cushion World Cup and World Championship are two tournaments from the World Billiard Union that feature the top players. While the World Cup can take place six or seven times in a year, the World Championship is hosted only once a year.

This year’s tournament is taking place in Ankara, Turkey. Chien will face defending champion Tayfun Tasdemir of Turkey in the first semifinal at 2 p.m. on Sunday (Hanoi time), while Vinh will play Cho Myung-woo of South Korea at 4:30 p.m.