Pagulayan had a better start when he won the first two rounds, but Thien leveled the score quickly and took a 3-2 lead. He made a mistake after missing ball number nine in the next round and Pagulayan tied it up at 3-3. In the last two rounds, Thien showed consistent form to win 5-3 overall.

A screenshot of Luong Duc Thien during the game with Alex Pagulayan at the Premiere League Pool in Leicester on March 8, 2023.

In the last match, Thien did not have a comfortable position to take ball number two down. Therefore, he chose a safe option, which also put Pagulayan in a tough position to get ball number two. After Pagulayan missed his shot, Thien had the chance to place the main ball and cleared the table.

Pagulayan, 45, is nicknamed "The Lion." He won three gold medals in the SEA Games in 2005. He is the second cueist in history to play two consecutive finals of the 9-ball World Cup in 2003 and 2004, winning the latter.

In the next game a few hours later, Thien lost 2-5 to the defending world champion Francisco Ruiz. After eight matches, he won three and lost five, placing 12th out of 16 players. To get to the second stage of the tournament, Thien needs to make the top 10.

Thien, 31, won the 9-ball tournament in Vietnam in 2020. Due to limited participation in international competitions, he is the only player in this tournament that is not on the ranking of World Pool Association.

The Premier League Pool is taking place in the Morningside Arena, Leicester from March 6 to 13.

All wins for Vietnamese cueists at international billiards tournament

On the second matchday of UMB 3C Grand Prix 2021 in South Korea, Tran Quyet Chien and Nguyen Quoc Nguyen registered impressive wins.

Vietnam wins gold at Asian Rifle/Pistol Cup 2023

Nguyen Thuy Trang has brought the first gold medal to Vietnam at the Asian Rifle/Pistol Cup 2023 held in Indonesia from March 1-10.

Jujitsu team arrives home with five golds from Asian championship

Vietnam’s national jujitsu team returned home with five gold medals from the Asian championship on March 1.

Vietnam wins two golds at ongoing Asian Jujitsu Championship 2023

Vietnamese athletes have secured two gold, one silver and four bronze medals at the ongoing Asian Jujitsu Championship 2023 in Thailand.

Vietnamese striker Tien Linh nominated for 2022 Asian Golden Ball

Vietnamese striker Nguyen Tien Linh has been listed among the 25 nominees for the Best Footballer in Asia 2022 award organised by Titan Sports of China.

Source: VnExpress