Vietnamese player beats compatriot, wins world billiards championship in 1st attempt

In Ankara, Turkey, on Sunday evening the 28-year-old led most of the way against his senior teammate, with the turning point being a streak of eight points to take him to 29-22.

Chien then suddenly seemed to lose his touch and kept missing shots.

In the last 12 turns, Vietnam's number one player only scored four points while Vinh got 11.

In the event Vinh beat Chien 50-34.

He also made history by becoming the first Vietnamese player to win the World Three-Cushion Championship.

But he did not celebrate as hard as he did after beating South Korea's Cho Myung-woo 50-48 in the semifinals a few hours earlier: He merely smiled and shook Chien's hand after the win.

In the 95-year history of the championship, only twice before have two players from the same country played the final: Argentina in 1938 and Belgium 2017.

Vinh is currently ranked 21st in the world. His previous best achievement was reaching the Asian championship semifinals in March in South Korea. There he lost to compatriot Tran Thanh Luc, who lost to Cho in the final.

Chien, the world number 10, reached the final by defeating defending champion Tayfun Tasdemir 50-47 in the semifinals.

Critics say Chien often starts well but loses concentration as the match goes on.

In Istanbul, Tasdemir could not capitalize of this, but Vinh did.

Vinh studied in Australia for an economics degree before returning to Vietnam in 2019 and starting a professional career in billiards.

The Three-Cushion World Cup and World Championship are two tournaments organized by the World Billiard Union that attract the top players.

While the World Cup takes place six or seven times a year, the World Championship is played only once.