The US Open, held in Atlantic City, New Jersey from 17/8 to 23/8, is one of the major tournaments on the World Nineball Tour, alongside the UK Open and Hanoi Open. This year's tournament features 256 players competing for a $500,000 prize pool. Vietnam initially had 11 representatives, but only Quoc Hoang remains in contention with two days left in the competition.

Quoc Hoang celebrates after defeating Naoyuki Oi in the round of 32 at the US Open 9-ball pool championship in Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA on the evening of 21/8/2025. _Photo: Matchroom_

Quoc Hoang began his campaign with a 3-9 loss to Hayato Hijikata in the double elimination stage. Dropping to the losers' bracket, he secured consecutive victories against Jj Faul (8-4), Dean Shields (8-5), Marc Bijsterbosch (8-3), and Skyler Woodward (9-5) to advance to the round of 64 (round of 32) in the single-elimination stage.

There, Vietnam's top-ranked player continued his winning streak, defeating Matt Edwards and Naoyuki Oi by identical scores of 10-4. Quoc Hoang will face Filipino cueist Michael Baoanan in the round of 16, which begins at 11 PM Hanoi time on 22/8. Last year, Baoanan reached the round of 16, while Quoc Hoang was eliminated in the round of 32.

Nguyen Anh Tuan was the only other Vietnamese player to reach the single-elimination stage. After defeating Mustafa Alnar 10-9 in the round of 64, Anh Tuan lost 6-10 to American player Oscar Dominguez, finishing his run and earning $5,000. Quoc Hoang is guaranteed at least $8,000 in prize money.

The tournament champion will receive $100,000. Among the remaining players are four ranked in the world's top 10: Fedor Gorst, Aloysius Yapp, Johann Chua, and Joshua Filler.

No Vietnamese player has ever reached the final of such a major tournament. Quoc Hoang's best result is a quarterfinal finish at the 2023 World 9-Ball Championship, earning him $10,000. The 38-year-old has also won several smaller tournaments, including the Scottish Open and the 2024 Reyes Cup team event.

Xuan Binh