Billiards

Trần Quyết Chiến is to compete at the Seoul World Cup 3-Cushion 2024 which will be held on November 4-10 in South Korea. Photo of UMB

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam's most successful billiards player, Trần Quyết Chiến, is seeded No 2 at the Seoul World Cup Three-Cushion 2024, which will be held from November 4 to 10 in South Korea.

The four-time World Cup winner stands behind world No 1, Dick Jaspers of the Netherlands.

Another Vietnamese player listed in the top 10 seed list is former world champion Bao Phương Vinh at No 8.

The duo are two of 11 Vietnamese cueists competing at this tournament. Both of them get byes from the qualifications and will begin their competition from the last-32 round.

World No 2 Chiến will first take on No 39, Seo Chang Hoon of South Korea, while No 14, Vinh, will go up against tough rival Sameh Sidhom of Egypt, who stands at No 7 in the world.

Other potential winners from Việt Nam are world championship runner-up Trần Thanh Lực, currently ranked No 10 in the world, and the Veghel World Cup's bronze medallist Nguyễn Trần Thanh Tự, who sits at No 26 in the world.

The number of Vietnamese participants is fewer than expected, after HCM World Cup 2024 champion Trần Đức Minh was unable to join due to visa problems. His teammates Nguyễn Chí Long and Nguyễn Hoàn Tất will also stay at home due to the same issues.

Chiến, who topped the podium at the Veghel World Cup in late October, said he did not set a specific target in Seoul but he would try hard to achieve his best result. VNS