After a day off, Vietnam's top pool player, Duong Quoc Hoang, returned to face Naoyuki Oi, Japan's top-ranked and Asia's number three pool player, in the second round of the winners' bracket. The winner would advance to the round of 32, while the loser would drop to the losers' bracket.

Duong Quoc Hoang during his 2-1 comeback victory against Naoyuki Oi at the 2025 Predator WPA Men’s 10-Ball World Championship, on the evening of 24/9. Photo: Duc Bao

Duong Quoc Hoang during his 2-1 comeback victory against Naoyuki Oi at the 2025 Predator WPA Men’s 10-Ball World Championship, on the evening of 24/9. Photo: Duc Bao

The match was tense from the start, with both players trading shots. With the first set tied at 3-3, Hoang missed the 8-ball in the seventh game, giving Oi the opportunity to win the set 4-3.

Cheered on by the home crowd at the Military Zone 7 Stadium, Hoang, also known as "Hoang Sao," entered the second set with renewed determination. He displayed skill and experience, making impressive jump shots to win 4-1, forcing a deciding third set.

In the third set, Hoang, with the psychological advantage, played consistently, while Oi made hasty errors. Hoang took a 2-0 lead but then missed a shot, allowing Oi to tie the score at 2-2. Hoang quickly regained the lead at 3-2 and had a chance to end the match in the sixth game, but he missed the 1-ball. Oi capitalized on this, winning the game to tie the set at 3-3.

According to the rules, a tie after two sets and a 3-3 score in the third set leads to a penalty shootout. Each player takes four shots to determine the winner.

In the tense shootout, Hoang made all four shots, while Oi missed his first, resulting in a 2-4 loss. Oi dropped to the losers' bracket.

After sinking his fourth shot to win the match, Hoang smiled and raised his cue to thank the crowd, relieved after the intense match. He advanced to the round of 32.

Duong Quoc Hoang after winning against Naoyuki Oi 2-1 at the 2025 Predator WPA Men’s 10-Ball World Championship, on the evening of 24/9. Photo: Duc Bao

Duong Quoc Hoang after winning against Naoyuki Oi 2-1 at the 2025 Predator WPA Men’s 10-Ball World Championship, on the evening of 24/9. Photo: Duc Bao

Vietnam's other player, Pham Phuong Nam, lost 0-2 to the favored Filipino player, Jeffrey De Luna, and fell to the losers' bracket. He still had a chance to advance if he defeated German player Moritz Neuhausen.

Top-ranked players like Ko Ping Yi and Shane Van Boening also secured victories to advance to the round of 32.

The first 16 players to reach the round of 32 are: Marco Teutscher, Wojciech Szewczyk, Oliver Szolnoki, Daniel Macioł, Aloysius Yapp, Mark Estiola, Szymon Kural, Taeyong Ko, Jeffrey De Luna, Konrad Juszczyszyn, Wu Kun Lin, Duong Quoc Hoang, Ko Ping Yi, and Shane Van Boening.

On 24/9, the remaining 32 players in the losers' bracket will compete for the remaining 16 spots in the knockout stage.

In the Poison Cues Saigon Women’s 9-Ball Open, the players in the losers' bracket played their final two rounds for a spot in the round of 16. Vietnamese players Nguyen Bich Tram, Dinh Thi Thanh Nga, and Duong Yen Vi were eliminated. Kristina Tkach, wife of world number one Fedor Gorst, was also eliminated.

The 16 women who advanced to the round of 16 are: Chia-Chia Chou, Carmille Buhat, Pia Filler, Zhang Muyan, Rubilen Amit, Savannah Easton, Jasmin Ouschan, Wan-Ling Wang, Chieh-Yu Chou, Chia Hua Chen, Chihiro Kawahara, Han Yu, Seo Seoa, Xiaofang Fu, Tzu-Chien Wei, and Xin-Yu Hong.

The women's round of 16 matches will take place tomorrow at 1:00 PM, followed by the quarterfinals at 6:00 PM.

Duc Dong