Duong Quoc Hoang chases VND 2 billion prize at world billiards championship

When the cue ball stops perfectly after the break shot, the entire Phu Tho Arena seems to hold its breath. That is the moment Duong Quoc Hoang — affectionately called "Hoang Sao" by fans — has been waiting for over three tournaments. The first time, he was eliminated early. The second, he stopped at the round of 32. The third, he reached the round of 16 on home soil. Now, at the WPA Men's 10-Ball World Championship being held in Ho Chi Minh City for the second consecutive year, Vietnam's No. 1 player aims higher: a world title and an $80,000 prize — approximately VND 2 billion. The tournament brings together nearly 200 players from 40 countries, competing from September 19 to 26 at Phu Tho Arena. This is the second consecutive year Vietnam hosts the event, a clear signal of the organizational capacity and appeal of the domestic billiards market. Alongside the main men's event, there is the Poison Saigon Women's 9-Ball Open with a $90,000 prize fund and the Box Billiards mixed-doubles open worth $111,000. The combined prize fund of all three events exceeds $700,000, a significant figure showing serious investment by organizers. The defining feature of the 10-ball format compared to traditional 9-ball lies in the call-shot rule: a player must nominate the ball and pocket before executing the shot. A ball that drops "accidentally" does not count. This rule completely eliminates luck, turning the tournament into a battle of absolute precision and steel-like nerve. In this context, experience accumulated over three previous tournaments becomes an invaluable advantage for Hoang. His trajectory of improvement — from early exit to the round of 32, then the round of 16 — shows increasing adaptation to this grueling competitive environment. However, a sober assessment is needed: the "heavyweight contender for the championship" label currently rests only on domestic media assessment. The article does not mention Hoang's world ranking, nor does it name any international rivals. In a tournament with nearly 200 players, reaching the round of 16 is a respectable achievement, but the distance from there to the title remains vast. Home-court pressure can be a double-edged sword: the passionate support of home fans is motivation, but the expectations of an entire nation are also a significant psychological burden. The presence of four other Vietnamese players — Luong Duc Thien, Pham Phuong Nam, Nguyen Anh Tuan, and Chu Viet Hoang — shows this is not a lone individual's quest. Hosting the world championship for the second consecutive year, along with a five-player domestic contingent, proves Vietnam is transitioning from a spectator market to a nation genuinely competing on the international billiards stage. The presence of equipment sponsors like Poison and Box Billiards as title sponsors for side events further reinforces the commercial value chain of the industry. The match ends at the eleventh angle. But for Duong Quoc Hoang, this is only the beginning of a long journey ahead. Can he turn expectations into reality, or will home-court pressure become the final barrier? The answer will lie in his ability to maintain focus on each shot, where the diamond in the rough only appears when you stop looking at the cue ball.