The inaugural staging of the Ho Chi Minh City Open takes place from September 25-29 at the Ho Xuan Huong Gymnasium in Vietnam, sanctioned by the WPA and the Asian federation.
The WPA-sanctioned tournament boasts a $110,000 prize fund and will be the first of a treble-header on Vietnamese shores ahead of the World Nineball Tour’s Peri Open and the prestigious Hanoi Open Pool Championship.
Despite numerous players opting to boycott WPA events due to bans being imposed, a relatively strong field will still compete, including Filipinos Carlo Biado, Anton Raga, Dennis Orcollo and Lee Van Corteza.
Alexander Kazakis and Denis Grabe, the world numbers two and three on the WPA rankings, will also be involved, as will the likes of recent China Open runner-up Hayato Hijikata, Sanjin Pehlivanovic, Mario He, Wu Kun-Lin, Bader Al-Awadhi and Pijus Labutis.
In addition, former world champions Darren Appleton, Ralf Souquet, Thorsten Hohmann and Alex Pagulayan have entered, while Vietnamese representation will be headlined by Pham Phuong Nam and Luong Duc Thien.
Vietnam’s number one Duong Quoc Hoang was originally going to headline the tournament in his hometown, although a falling out with the event sponsors meant that he withdrew.
The tournament will be organised by the Ho Chi Minh City Billiard and Snooker Federation, sanctioned by the WPA and ACBS and sponsored by Aplus Billiards in Vietnam.
The format will be race-to-nine racks during the double elimination phase, before increasing to race-to-11 for the last 64 onwards until the race-to-13 final. It will be alternate break and nine on the spot throughout.
Coverage will be broadcast via SAM Entertainment on Facebook and YouTube throughout the week, with the semi-finals and final taking place on Sunday.
HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN 2024
Draw Bracket
Click here for the draw bracket in full
Last 32
🇬🇷 Alexander Kazakis 11-7 Jeffrey de Luna 🇵🇭
🇻🇳 Luong Duc Thien 8-11 Sean Mark Malayan 🇵🇭
🇹🇼 Chen Hsin-Tin 11-7 Chen Kuan-Yu 🇹🇼
🇹🇼 Chien Ching-Ju 6-11 Ralf Souquet 🇩🇪
🇮🇩 Edward Koyongian 11-9 Michael Baoanan 🇵🇭
🇹🇼 Fu Che-Wei 4-11 Jundel Mazon 🇵🇭
🇻🇳 Le Van Ngo 5-11 Ko Ping-Han 🇹🇼
🇹🇼 Lin Ta-Li 5-11 Mario He 🇦🇹
🇹🇼 Wu Kun-Lin 11-7 Nguyen Hoang Phong 🇻🇳
🇻🇳 Nguyen Huu Binh 4-11 Lee Van Corteza 🇵🇭
🇧🇦 Sanjin Pehlivanovic 11-6 Alvin Anggito 🇮🇩
🇻🇳 Nguyen Phuc Long 11-10 Hayato Hijikata 🇯🇵
🇱🇹 Pijus Labutis 11-9 Lu Hui-Chan 🇹🇼
🇹🇼 Kuo Po-Cheng 5-11 Anton Raga 🇵🇭
🇻🇳 Tran Minh Khai 6-11 Valeriano Pajuay 🇵🇭
🇹🇼 Wang Hung-Hsiang 7-11 Carlo Biado 🇵🇭
Last 16
🇬🇷 Alexander Kazakis 11-1 Sean Mark Malayan 🇵🇭
🇹🇼 Chen Hsin-Tin 6-11 Ralf Souquet 🇩🇪
🇮🇩 Edward Koyongian 11-6 Jundel Mazon 🇵🇭
🇹🇼 Ko Ping-Han 10-11 Mario He 🇦🇹
🇹🇼 Wu Kun-Lin 11-3 Lee Van Corteza 🇵🇭
🇧🇦 Sanjin Pehlivanovic 11-6 Nguyen Phuc Long 🇻🇳
🇱🇹 Pijus Labutis 8-11 Anton Raga 🇵🇭
🇵🇭 Carlo Biado 11-3 Valeriano Pajuay 🇵🇭
Quarter-Finals
🇬🇷 Alexander Kazakis 11-3 Ralf Souquet 🇩🇪
🇮🇩 Edward Koyongian 8-11 Mario He 🇦🇹
🇹🇼 Wu Kun-Lin 10-11 Sanjin Pehlivanovic 🇧🇦
🇵🇭 Carlo Biado 11-4 Anton Raga 🇵🇭
Semi-Finals
🇬🇷 Alexander Kazakis 6-11 Mario He 🇦🇹
🇵🇭 Carlo Biado 11-10 Sanjin Pehlivanovic 🇧🇦
Final
🇵🇭 Carlo Biado 13-8 Mario He 🇦🇹
Prize Fund
Champion – $35,000
Runner-up – $13,000
Semi-finalists – $5,000
Quarter-finalists – $3,000
Last 16 – $1,600
Last 32 – $800
Last 64 – $450
Total – $110,000
