Minh, 40, beat big opponents of the world, including Turkey’s Benkay Karakurt (world # 25) in the quarterfinals and Turkey’s Kiraz Tolgahan (world #17) in the semi-finals before clashing against Kim Jun-tae who was expected to take the world No.1 position after this tournament.

With enthusiastic cheers of home spectators at Nguyen Du Sport sHall, Minh continuously scored points and left Kim behind. However, the Korean opponent who deserved to be the No1 star even though he has never won a World Cup, scored 12 consecutive points in just one inning to close the gap with Minh (43 and 45). In other two innings, Kim patiently fought back to trail Minh behind by 1 point (46 and 45).

The competition entered into dramatic moments. Spectators at the Sports Hall seemed to be holding their breath to watch the players’ movements.

In the end, Minh outperformed his experienced opponent in the 22nd inning, scoring enough 50 points, only 4 points more than Kim’s. The Vietnamese player screamed loudly after becoming the world champion of the 3-cushion carom billiards. He then choked up to share his unexpected joy with spectators supporting him at the Sports Hall.

Also at the final gala, the south-central province of Binh Thuan received the symbolic flag to host the World Championship 3-Cushion Billiard Individual in September 2024.

VOV