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Vietnamese cueist reaches Three-Cushion World Cup semifinals
Tran Thanh Luc is the only Vietnamese player to reach the semifinals of the Three-Cushion World Cup in Bogotá after defeating Roland Forthomme and Eddy Merckx of Belgium.
In the round of 16 on Saturday, Luc secured a 50-31 victory over Forthomme in 36 innings. The 35-year-old then advanced further by defeating Merckx 50-25 in just 22 innings in the quarterfinals the following morning.
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Tran Thanh Luc in the quarterfinals of the Three-Cushion World Cup at Palacio de Los Deportes, Bogotá, Colombia, on Feb. 28, 2025. |
This marks his first time reaching a World Cup semifinal, making him the 11th Vietnamese 3-cushion carom player to achieve this milestone.
Three Vietnamese players were eliminated in the knockout stage.
Chiem Hong Thai defeated Sweden's Torbjorn Blomdahl 50-29 in 26 innings in the round of 16 but suffered a narrow 49-50 loss to Turkey's Tolgahan Kiraz in 38 innings in the quarterfinals.
Vietnam’s top player, Tran Quyet Chien, was defeated by world number one Dick Jaspers of the Netherlands, losing 40-50 in 31 innings. Former champion Tran Duc Minh was also eliminated in the round of 16, losing 26-50 to Turkey's Berkay Karakurt in 19 innings.
The semifinals and final are set for Sunday and Monday. Luc will take on Jaspers in the first semifinal at 11 p.m. on Sunday, while the other semifinal will be between Kiraz and fellow countryman Tayfun Tasdemir.
Born in 1990 in Binh Duong in southern Vietnam, Luc comes from a non-sporting family. He only picked up billiards in 2011, after completing his military service, initially competing in amateur tournaments. By 2013, he had already broken into Vietnam’s top 32 billiards players.
In 2015, he stepped away from competitions and took jobs at billiards clubs to make ends meet. Three years later, in 2018, he returned to the sport. In 2019, Luc joined Ho Chi Minh City’s billiards team, officially beginning his professional career.
Last year, he won silver at the Asian Championship 2024, one of the continent’s top-level tournaments. His best achievement so far was finishing runner-up at the UMB World Three-Cushion Championship 2023 in Binh Thuan.
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