Three top Vietnamese pool players, Duong Quoc Hoang, Nguyen Anh Tuan, and Le Quang Trung, withdrew from the Peri Laili Cup 2026 in Hainan, China. The tournament, organized by the Chinese Billiards and Snooker Association (CBSA) from April 26-30, featured many leading Asian pool players competing for a total prize of 822,000 Chinese Yuan.

Duong Quoc Hoang is Vietnam's top pool player.

On April 26, the opening day of the tournament, Duong Quoc Hoang, known as Hoang "Sao", discovered that the CBSA logo used a map of China depicting a dotted line that encompassed the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos. This action infringes upon Vietnam's sovereignty over the two archipelagos, as well as its sovereign rights and jurisdiction over maritime zones defined by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Upon this discovery, Duong Quoc Hoang immediately decided to withdraw from the tournament. Nguyen Anh Tuan and Le Quang Trung followed suit, abandoning their ongoing matches against Chinese players.

Peri Vietnam Team, the club managing Anh Tuan and Quang Trung, confirmed the incident on its official page. A statement from the club emphasized, "Although everyone put in a lot of effort, this is a deeply concerning and non-negotiable issue. Hoang Sa and Truong Sa belong to Vietnam."

The "nine-dash line", also known as the "cow's tongue line", is a unilaterally drawn claim by China asserting sovereignty over nearly the entire South China Sea. This claim has faced widespread opposition from the international community. In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) rejected China's claims, stating the country had no legal basis for historical rights to resources within the "nine-dash line".

Player Nguyen Anh Tuan stopped his match after Hoang "Sao" discovered the CBSA logo featured a "nine-dash line" map at the Peri Laili Cup 2026. Video: Peri Vietnam Team

This is not an isolated incident. In 2023, player Tran Quyet Chien also withdrew from a tournament in Shanghai due to a similar issue. During a live television broadcast of a friendly match between Quyet Chien and player Dick Jaspers, an overlaid map of China including the "nine-dash line" was displayed. Viewing this as an inappropriate depiction of Vietnam's sovereignty, he withdrew from the tournament and returned home that same night.

Duc Dong