Seo took an early lead, but Ouschan leveled the score after a safe. However, in the next two racks, the Austrian's shots opened opportunities for Seo to clear the table. In the fifth rack, Ouschan missed an easy shot on the 6-ball, allowing Seo to go up 4-1. She then extended her lead to four points with a combination shot, sinking the 9-ball.

Seo Seo-a after defeating Albin Ouschan 9-2 in the second round of the loser's bracket at the World Pool Championship in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 22/7/2025. Photo: Matchroom

Seo's performance continued to improve. In the seventh rack, her safety on the 2-ball forced Ouschan to make a mistake. The 2016 and 2021 world champion then narrowed the gap to 2-6. But in the next rack, he missed another shot, leaving the cue ball near the pocket. Once again, Seo capitalized on his error to clear the table.

In the 10th rack, Seo's safety on the 2-ball led to another mistake by Ouschan. In the final rack, the 34-year-old missed a shot on the 6-ball, allowing Seo to finish the match with a 9-2 victory.

Throughout the match, the South Korean player effectively capitalized on Ouschan's errors. Her safeties also posed significant challenges for him. Ouschan could only blame himself for his missed shots.

Before this match, Seo had a Fargo rating (similar to Elo in chess) of 755, while Ouschan's rating was 829. In a race-to-9 match, Seo's probability of winning was only 14.3%, but she achieved a remarkable upset.

Final rack highlights.

Born on 27/11/2002, the 1.68m-tall Seo is considered the new queen of pool. This is her first time reaching the knockout stage of the World Pool Championship, and she is also the only female player to do so this year.

Ouschan, who was ranked number one in the world in 2016 and 2021, and won the World Cup of Pool with Mario He in 2017 and 2019, has seen his form decline in recent years and is currently ranked 24th in the world. This loss eliminated him from the tournament, similar to former champion Ko Pin Yi.

Vietnam participated in the tournament with 5 players, 4 of whom advanced to the knockout stage: Duong Quoc Hoang, Nguyen Anh Tuan, Luong Duc Thien, and Bui Truong An. The first three players won both of their matches. Truong An secured the final spot after defeating South Korean representative Ha Min-ug 9-1 on the evening of 23/7.

In the round of 32 starting at 5 PM Hanoi time today, 24/7, Quoc Hoang will face Daniel Maciol, whom he previously defeated 9-1 in the qualifying round. Truong An will play Filipino player Marvin Asis. Duc Thien will compete against Taiwanese player Hsu Jui An. Anh Tuan will face Polish player Konrad Juszczyszyn. Seo will play Wiktor Zielinski.

Xuan Binh