Quyet Chien, Phuong Vinh and other Vietnamese billiards players advance straight at the Asian Championship

Leading Vietnamese players keep demonstrating outstanding performance at the 2026 Asian Carom Billiards Championship taking place in Ho Chi Minh City. Tran Quyet Chien, Bao Phuong Vinh, Le Thanh Tien... have all earned tickets to the men's three-cushion carom knockout round.

On May 7, the men's three-cushion carom event at the 2026 Asian Carom Billiards Championship was lively at Ho Xuan Huong Gymnasium (Xuan Hoa Ward, Ho Chi Minh City) with many thrilling matches among the continent's top cueists.

Most notably, the performance ofTran Quyet Chienin Group C. Vietnam's number one cueist did not start explosively, but he played increasingly well and showcased his class.

After an opening win over Takahashi Tomotaka (Japan), Quyet Chien impressed with a spectacular comeback against Choi Wan Young, despite at one point trailing by 10 points.

His composure and experience helped the formerAsian championturn the game around, completing the group stage with three wins, thereby topping Group C and becoming the first Vietnamese representative to reach the knockout stage.

Meanwhile, Group D was extremely dramatic as Bao Phuong Vinh, Nguyen Huu Thanh and Ryuji Umeda each had one win. The race for qualification was decided by scoring efficiency.

With an average of 1.187, Bao Phuong Vinh narrowly edged out to claim second place in the group, joining Nguyen Dinh Quoc in the knockout stage. Nguyen Dinh Quoc impressed by winning all three group matches.

In Group B,Le Thanh Tienalso secured a crucial victory over Arai Tatsuo (Japan) in the decisive match to take second place. He was accompanied by Nguyen Hoan Tat, a consistently strong player who won all three matches.

In Group A, defending champion Cho Myung Woo once again displayed the class of the world's number one player. The South Korean won all three matches with a very high scoring efficiency, topping the group and remaining a strong contender for this year's title.

The 2026 Asian Carom Billiards Championship brings together 80 top players from Vietnam, South Korea, and Japan. The men's three-cushion carom event alone features 32 players, divided into eight groups to select representatives for the elimination round.

After an exciting group stage, the knockout round promises even more drama as many home players are in top form, aiming to compete for the championship right in their home city of Ho Chi Minh City.

On the afternoon of May 10, the tournament will conclude and the organizers will award prizes for all categories.