After an outstanding victory over the 2022 world champion, Tayfun Tasdemir, followed by another triumph against Tolgahan Kiraz in back-to-back matches early this morning, Vietnam's top-ranked cueist, Tran Quyet Chien, secures a spot in the semifinals of the Bogota World Cup 3-Cushion 2024, held in Colombia.
After securing three consecutive wins to advance to the knockout stage among the top 16 players, Tran Quyet Chien faced Tasdemir at 1 a.m. earlier today. Tasdemir, a Turkish player and former world champion in 2022, once held the world's number-one ranking. However, facing this formidable opponent proved to be a psychological advantage for Tran Quyet Chien.
In their recent three encounters, the Vietnamese player emerged victorious each time: once in the semifinals of the Ankara World Cup 3-Cushion 2022 in Turkey, in the quarterfinals of the Porto World Cup 3-Cushion 2023, and the semifinals of the 75th 3-Cushion World Championship.
The duel between the two top-ranked players was gripping as they closely trailed each other, point by point. The largest margin was only 7 points when Tasdemir led 22/15 in the 11th inning, and Tran Quyet Chien later took the lead with 35/28 in the 21st inning.
After a tight contest and holding a narrow lead of 43/41, Tran Quyet Chien unleashed a series of 6 consecutive points to widen the gap to 8 points, making it 49/41. However, he overlooked a critical positional shot, which almost proved costly. Immediately after, the Turkish player delivered an impressive series of 8 points, leveling the score at 49/49.
Similar to Tran Quyet Chien, the psychological pressure was immense during the crucial positional shot, leading Tasdemir to miss the chance for victory. In a dramatic turn of events, Chien capitalized on the second opportunity to secure a nail-biting 50-49 win, advancing to the quarterfinals.
Another Vietnamese player, Tran Thanh Luc, faced disappointment in the knockout stage, succumbing to Tolgahan Kiraz (Turkey) 39-50. Despite his reputation for producing significant point series, Thanh Luc seemed to struggle with his form today. Consequently, Kiraz advanced to the quarterfinals to take on Tran Quyet Chien in a match scheduled for 6:30 a.m. this morning.
In superb form, Tran Quyet Chien made an outstanding start against his opponent Kiraz. In the first eight innings, Tran Quyet Chien scored in five innings against the Turkish player, all in consecutive series. These included a series of 6, a series of 5, two series of 4, and a series of 2 points, giving him a significant lead of 21/4. Throughout the rest of the match, Vietnam's top-ranked cueist maintained his dominance, ultimately clinching victory with a final score of 50-33.
Progressing to the semifinals tomorrow, Tran Quyet Chien will meet Hofman from the Netherlands. Meanwhile, the other semifinal clash will see Sidhom from Egypt facing off against Morales from Colombia.
This is a golden opportunity for Vietnam's number one cueist to seize the World Cup title. With the elimination of seasoned top-ranked players worldwide, Tran Quyet Chien ranked 5th globally, holds the highest ranking among the four semifinalists.
