Billiards 

Dương Quốc Hoàng leads Việt Nam team in the  2026 Predator WPA Teams 10-Ball World Championship. Photos courtesy of Matchroom

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam will cue up against the world’s best at the 2026 Predator WPA Teams 10-Ball World Championship, a flagship event staged during the CueSports International Expo in Las Vegas in the United States.

The Southeast Asian side will be represented by Dương Quốc Hoàng, Bùi Xuân Vàng and Phạm Phương Nam. They open their campaign against the Netherlands on February 25 at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino.

Hoàng is regarded as the strongest member of the Vietnamese line-up. The 2024 Scottish Open champion recently claimed the Premier League Pool 2026 title on February 23 in Miami, marking another milestone in his career.

Nam reached the quarter-finals of the 2025 UK Open Pool Championship and represented Việt Nam at the 2025 World 8-Ball Championship as well as multiple events on the World Nineball Tour.

Vàng has dominated domestic competitions in recent years and has since stepped onto the international stage, delivering encouraging results.

The Netherlands squad features world No.18 Marco Teutscher, winner of the 2019 CSI US Open 10-Ball Championship, alongside Elise Qiu, who has recorded notable performances in 2025, and rising talent Yannick Pongers.

Yannick Pongers.will join hands in the Netherlands' world campaign.

The four days of elite competition feature 24 national teams, each composed of three to five athletes, including the highest-ranked player from each country under the World Pool Billiard Association rankings. Every match presents a balanced and strategic line-up, with mixed-gender team play at the core of the contest.

With a total prize fund of US$300,000, the February 24–27 World Championship ranks among the most prestigious and high-stakes team events in professional pool, where every rack carries national pride and international significance.

Matches are played in a best-of-sets format, combining rotational team play, same-sex doubles, mixed doubles and, if required, a decisive singles match or shoot-out. All sets are contested as races to four using a winner-break format.

Germany claimed the 2023 title in Puerto Rico. With Joshua Filler, Moritz Neuhausen and Pia Filler reunited, Germany arrive with established chemistry, championship experience and a clear ambition to defend their crown on the sport’s biggest team stage. — VNS