Billiards

The winning Vietnamese pair (2nd and 3rd from left) stand atop of the podium at the 2026 World Championship National Teams 3-Cushion tournament. Photo courtesy of UMB

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam has taken back its world title after two crucial matches in the final of the 38th World Championship National Teams 3-Cushion billiards tournament on Sunday.

The tiny-but-mighty nation, which has become a global powerhouse in billiards, defeated hosts Germany 4-0 at the Festhalle Viersen in Viersen.

It was their second meet in this tournament after the first in the group round ended in a draw.

The final turned into a magnificent battle, with Vietnamese Trần Quyết Chiến, ranked 11th in the world, creating a massive 10-2 gap against German Martin Horn, ranked No 4 globally.

Horn came back with a run of 12 before Chiến restored his lead with an 11. The German star then extended his lead to 26-20, but Chiến had a superior final sprint, with a final score of 40-30. It was the second time that Horn was defeated by his Vietnamese arch-rival in this event.

Germany's future remained in the hands of Amir Ibraimov, a star among the juniors, who only turned 18 last week. As the second man on the German team, he demonstrated considerable talent.

However, the 40-30 result from the first game was just too far for Ibraimov. Meanwhile Việt Nam's second man, Nguyễn Trần Thanh Tự, also gave an outstanding performance.

He surged to a 20-6 lead and later extended the gap to 36-19. Ibraimov mounted a strong comeback toward the end of the match, but it was not enough to overturn the deficit. Tự eventually secured a 40-38 victory, avenging his earlier loss to Ibraimov in the group stage.

Trần Quyết Chiến (right) and Nguyễn Trần Thanh Tự overcame strong rivals to crown Việt Nam champions of the 3-cushion world. — Photo courtesy of DBU

Sustained dominance

The victory confirmed the supremacy Việt Nam has shown in recent years. Chiến and teammate Bao Phương Vinh took the first world gold in 2024. Last year, they finished second after losing to the Netherlands.

This year's win marked their second gold in three years.

Sweden, which lost to Việt Nam, and Colombia, which was defeated by Germany in the semi-finals, shared third place.

A prize totalling 42,000 euros (US$49,500) was divided between the high-ranking teams. The champions took 8,000 euros each, while the runners-up earned 6,000 euros and the third-place team pocketed 3,600 euros.

The world team championship has been held annually since 1990. This year, 16 teams divided into four groups of four participated, playing a round-robin format to select eight teams for the quarter-finals.

Each match was arranged on two separate tables, with two players from each team facing their respective opponents. If the score was tied, the players competed in a tie-break format on the same table. — VNS