Later that evening, after dropping to the losers' bracket, Sao and Vang regained their form, winning handily against Hiraguchi and Serradilla 2-0 with spectacular shots to advance.

Alongside the men's 10-ball tournament, Ho Chi Minh City is also hosting the Poison Cues Saigon Women’s 9-ball Open and the Box Billiards Mixed Doubles Open.

Duong Quoc Hoang (Hoang Sao), already qualified for the 10-ball finals, also entered the Box Billiards Mixed Doubles Open with Bui Xuan Vang.

After the first round, losing pairs move to the losers' bracket, while winning pairs advance in the winners' bracket to compete for a spot in the quarterfinals.

Another notable match featured Nguyen Bich Tram (pictured) and Nguyen Nhat Thanh against the married couple Joshua Filler and Pia Filler.

The Vietnamese pair played confidently but couldn't pull off an upset, quickly losing in two sets and falling to the losers' bracket.

Sao and Vang faced Mario He and Chia Hua Chen. The Vietnamese pair lost the first set but won the second.

In the third set, Sao and Vang made several errors, losing 2-4.

Van Dang and Thanh Nga faced Max Lechner and Shui Ching Chiang. The Vietnamese pair lost the first set but won the second, forcing a decisive third set.

Nguyen Hoang Minh Tai and Duong Yen Vi played well against Robbie Capito and Seo Seoa.

The Vietnamese duo won the first two sets and had a chance to finish the match with only the 10-ball remaining. However, Minh Tai missed the shot, giving their opponents the opportunity to win the second set.

Having narrowly avoided defeat, Capito and Seoa played better in the third set, winning the match 2-1.

"We were one handshake away from losing, but luckily, we got another chance and made the most of it to win," Capito and Seoa said. "We've never experienced anything like that in our lives."

However, they struggled in the final set, losing 0-4.

After dropping to the losers' bracket, Van Dang and Thanh Nga recovered well, defeating fellow Vietnamese pair Chi Dung and Kim Quyen 2-0 to advance.

World number one pool player Fedor Gorst (pictured) partnered with Krystina Tkach, defeating Felix Vogel and Wan-Ling Wang 2-1 in the first round.

They then went on to beat PBS Chou CC and Hsu JA 2-1 to secure their place in the next round.

The tournament, co-organized by Box Billiards, Predator, and the Ho Chi Minh City Billiards & Snooker Federation (HBSF), takes place at the Military Zone 7 Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City from 17/9 to 28/9.

The total prize money for the series of events is 425,000 USD (approximately 11.2 billion VND), with the men's 10-ball tournament offering 250,000 USD (nearly 7 billion VND). The men's 10-ball world champion will receive 70,000 USD (1.8 billion VND), the runner-up 40,000 USD, and the two third-place finishers 17,500 USD each.

Duc Dong