Bao Phuong Vinh at the Tri-cushion World Cup in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt on December 8, 2023. Photo by UMB
Reigning world champion Bao Phuong Vinh defeated Colombian Daniel Morales in 26 rounds in the round of 16 of the 2023 Tri-cushion World Cup in Egypt on Friday.
Ranked ninth in the world, Vinh was favored against Morales, a Colombian player ranked 169th. Their form in the 2023 Tri-cushion World Cup is also different, with the Vietnamese player averaging 1,604 points per round compared to Morales’ 1,148 points.
The round of 16 between the two highlighted this difference.
Vinh quickly took an 8-2 lead. Morales, the lowest ranked player in the round of 16, surprisingly turned things around and came back to lead 21-16. However, the world championship winner showed his skills with a series of nine points to go on to lead 37-29. Vinh held the lead until the end of the match and averaged 1.923 points per round.
In the quarter-finals, Vinh will face South Korean Kim Jun-tae. Kim had already reached the semi-finals of the Tri-Cushion World Cup in Las Vegas and Ho Chi Minh City this year, while Vinh had never reached this stage before. The South Korean player is currently ranked 13th in the world and knocked out Vietnamese number one Tran Quyet Chien in the group stage. Kim’s average score this year is 1,670 points per round, slightly higher than Vinh’s.
The Tri-cushion World Cup in Egypt is the sixth and final World Cup this year, taking place from December 3-9.
Vinh, 28, is Vietnam’s first winner of the World Tri-cushion Championship, a feat he achieved in just over a year of international competition. In the previous two Tri-Cushion World Cups, it was eliminated in the group stage.
