Thanh Luc and Jaspers were in a tight race during their quarterfinal match on the morning of 12/4, Hanoi time. Nearing the end, the Dutch player took a lead of 43-36, then 46-37. However, he scored points in only one of his last six turns. Meanwhile, Thanh Luc scored in four turns, including a run of 6 points. Ultimately, the Vietnamese representative won 50-48 after 33 turns.

According to Dutch 3-cushion carom expert Bert van Manen, the match between Thanh Luc and Jaspers was the most exciting of the round. "Neither player could easily overcome the other: the score was 26-25, then 44-46", he wrote on his personal page. "In the tense final turns, Jaspers made a mistake with a kiss shot. Thanh Luc seized the opportunity with a beautiful finishing shot, scoring 4 consecutive points."

Tran Thanh Luc at the 3-cushion carom world championship in Belgium in 10/2025. Photo: Ton Smilde.

In the round of 16, Thanh Luc defeated Turkish player Birol Uymaz 50-32 after 24 turns. In the semifinals, he will face German representative Martin Horn at 1:30 AM on 13/4, Hanoi time. If he advances to the final, Thanh Luc will play against world number one Cho Myung-woo or Tayfun Tasdemir at 6:00 AM on the same day.

Born in 1990 in Binh Duong, Thanh Luc has also previously defeated Jaspers in the semifinals of the 2024 World Championship and the 2025 Bogota World Cup. He claimed the title in Bogota last year, after beating Turkish opponent Tayfun Tasdemir 50-47 in the final match.

Thanh Luc is Vietnam's last representative in the tournament. Another player, Chiem Hong Thai, also reached the knockout stage. The 27-year-old defeated Jeremy Bury 50-21 after 26 turns in the round of 16, but lost to Cho 30-50 after 25 turns in the quarterfinals.

Tran Quyet Chien and Bao Phuong Vinh were eliminated from the group stage. Quyet Chien won two matches, lost one, and was eliminated by tie-breakers, while Phuong Vinh lost all three of his matches.

Bogota is the first World Cup stop of 2026, held from 6/4 to 12/4. As they are among the world's top 14, Thanh Luc and Quyet Chien qualified directly for the group stage, while Phuong Vinh, Hong Thai, and Nguyen Tran Thanh Tu had to compete from the qualifying rounds.

Xuan Binh