Vietnamese campaign ends as no players reach knockout stage at WPA 10-Ball

Vietnam is out of the WPA World 10-Ball Championship. The last local player, Duong Khuc Hoang, lost his qualifying decider to Albania's Eklent Kaci at Phu Tho Sports Hall in Ho Chi Minh City. That result leaves the host nation with no one in the knockout rounds.

Kaci, who won the world 10-ball title in 2021 and 2023, came in as one of the favorites. Sports media had him marked as a top contender. He won all three of his group matches. Still, Duong Khuc Hoang took the first set 4-3. He jumped on a rare Kaci mistake and cleared the table with sharp play.

But the match turned fast. Kaci found his rhythm and took control. He won the next two sets 4-1 and 4-0. That gave him a 2-1 sets win and sent Hoang out. Thanh Niên reported that Kaci's comeback put him in the last 32 and ended Vietnam's run in the men's event.

Earlier, other Vietnamese players-Pham Phung Nam and Chu Viet Hoang-also fell short. They did not reach the final qualifying round. Local media confirmed on September 23 that no Vietnamese men were left in the draw. The home crowd's hopes for a breakthrough ended there.

Now, only the women's 9-ball competition has Vietnamese players left. The men's draw moves on without any local names. The WPA World 10-Ball Championship wraps up on Saturday night, closing a week of top-level cue sports in Ho Chi Minh City.

For more on Vietnam's campaign and what these results mean, see earlier coverage from UAE Cue Sports.

This result shows the gap between Vietnam's best and the world's top 10-ball players. The country is putting money into player development and hosting big events. But missing out on the knockout rounds makes it clear that Vietnamese cueists need more technical growth and international match time. For now, attention turns to the women's 9-ball, where Vietnam still has a shot at a home-stage breakthrough.