Thón Viết Hoàng Minh beat South Korea's Kim Jun-tae 3-2 in a tiebreak shootout in the round of 64 at the fifth stop of the 2026-27 PBA Tour, a three-cushion carom event, on 22 October. According to Thanh Niên, Đào Văn Ly, Nguyễn Huỳnh Phương Linh and Nguyễn Trần Thanh Tạo also reached the last 32, while veterans Nguyễn Đức Anh Chiến, Ngô Đình Nại and Nguyễn Quốc Nguyện went out.
Round of 64: how the seven Vietnamese players fared
| Vietnamese player | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thón Viết Hoàng Minh | Kim Jun-tae (South Korea) | 3-2 | Through |
| Đào Văn Ly | Lee Jong-joo (South Korea) | 3-2 | Through |
| Nguyễn Huỳnh Phương Linh | Choi Myung-jin (South Korea) | 3-2 | Through |
| Nguyễn Trần Thanh Tạo | Park Seung-hee (South Korea) | 3-0 | Through |
| Nguyễn Quốc Nguyện | Kim Kwan-woo (South Korea) | 1-3 | Out |
| Nguyễn Đức Anh Chiến | Lee Sang-dae (South Korea) | 0-3 | Out |
| Ngô Đình Nại | Can Capak (Turkey) | 0-3 | Out |
Hoàng Minh had the hardest draw. Kim Jun-tae is a former world No. 1 in the rankings of the UMB, the world carom billiards body, and was known on that circuit for long scoring runs; at the 2024 Seoul World Cup he equalled the world record with a run of 28 points.
Hoàng Minh won the first and third sets, but Kim levelled at 1-1 and again at 2-2. In the shootout the Vietnamese player missed his break shot but left a difficult position, and Kim could not close the match out. On his second turn Hoàng Minh scored 4 points, and Kim then missed a bank shot. Đào Văn Ly and Phương Linh also won tight matches 3-2, and PBA champion Thanh Tạo cruised through 3-0.
Quốc Nguyện, the most recent PBA Tour champion, was the surprise casualty, losing 1-3 to Kim Kwan-woo. Anh Chiến and Đình Nại both lost 0-3.
The road from the round of 128
All nine Vietnamese players at this stop drew South Korean opponents in their opening matches, and only Mã Minh Cẩm and Trần Đức Minh lost, Thanh Niên reports. Đào Văn Ly booked his round-of-64 place on 20 October, and Phương Linh and Ngô Đình Nại had also come through the round of 128 earlier.
On 21 October Quốc Nguyện beat Lee Yong-jae 3-1, Anh Chiến beat Oh Seong-uk 3-1, Thanh Tạo beat Kim Jeong-ho 3-0 and Hoàng Minh beat Kim Won-sup 3-1. The only loser that day was Trần Đức Minh, the 2024 World Cup champion, who fell to Lee Sang-dae. Lee then knocked out Anh Chiến in the round of 64, making him the player who has ended two Vietnamese runs at this stop.
That leaves Vietnam with seven of nine players in the round of 64 and four in the last 32, a strong return given that almost every opponent was a home player from South Korea.
Round of 32: a Vietnamese player is sure to go through
Thanh Niên lists the round of 32 for 23 October with four Vietnamese players. Hoàng Minh faces Lee Choong-bok of South Korea and Phương Linh meets Spain's David Zapata. The standout tie is an all-Vietnamese meeting between Đào Văn Ly and Nguyễn Trần Thanh Tạo, which guarantees Vietnam at least one player in the last 16.
Thanh Niên expects a very demanding round for the Vietnamese players.