Nguyện second at Porto World Cup

Nguyện second at Porto World Cup

Nguyễn Quốc Nguyện (left) in podium with his silver trophy of the World Union of Billiards (UMB) World Cup Porto, which closed in Portugal on Monday. — Photo kozoom.com

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese Nguyễn Quốc Nguyện finished second at the World Union of Billiards (UMB) World Cup Porto, which closed early Monday in Portugal.

The Cup ended with an all-Asian final as the top European players were all eliminated before the penultimate round. Nguyện was defeated by South Korean Kim Haeng-jik  三 四- 四0 in  二 一 innings.

Kim opened with a run of nine to take an early lead. But he gave up the lead at the break when Nguyện made a run of nine to go ahead  二0- 一 八.

In the second half of the match, it was Kim who played a more consistent offence and more challenging defence. Nguyện, world No  一 四, missed some key shots, which enabled Kim, No  二, to comfortably reach  四0.

Heo Jung-han of South Korea and Lutfi Cenet of Turkey shared the third position.

It was Nguyện’s best result at the tournament. On the previous two occasions, he finished third.

Kim, meanwhile, added one more title to his collection, which now includes four Junior Wolrd Championships and the  二0 一 五 Asian Championship. — VNS