Pijus Labutis experienced the greatest day of his career so far at the Vietnam National Sports Complex and landed an elusive major accolade, overcoming Moritz Neuhausen 13-7 to win the Hanoi Open Championship.
A beaten semi-finalist at the European Open, the UK Open and the Spanish Open in recent times, Labutis showcased his undeniable resilience and perseverance and brushed off those defeats to achieve his finest hour in the wonderful Vietnam.
The Lithuanian scooped the $40,000 champion’s cheque in front of a passionate Vietnamese audience, breaking into the world’s top eight for the first time and rocketing himself into Mosconi Cup contention.
Neuhausen’s sights were set on winning back-to-back titles having won the Peri Open last week, and it was him who gained the early ascendancy in the final. However, his 3-1 lead was swiftly turned on its head, with Labutis putting together four break and runs on his way to mounting an unassailable 10-4 advantage.
Labutis had executed a truly sensational three-seven-nine combination in the eighth rack, although it was soon Neuhausen who turned on the style after his opponent rocked the nine ball when glued behind it, winning three racks on the bounce to halve the deficit.
Nevertheless, an unsuccessful safety from Neuhausen saw Labutis return to the table and he made no further errors. He cleared the table before compiling back-to-back break and runs to seal success, then releasing a huge roar of emotion and leaping onto the table to a raucous reception.
Beforehand, Labutis had avenged his 2024 UK Open defeat to Robbie Capito in the semi-finals, having sensationally produced a statement deciding rack victory over Carlo Biado in the quarter-finals.
He had beaten Jani Siekkinen, Daniel Guttenberger and Bui Truong An during a tricky qualifying route, before routine wins over Cheng Hsiung-Liu and Nguyen Hoang Phong as well as a more arduous win over Raymund Faraon saw him into the quarter-finals.
Neuhausen, meanwhile, scuppered the dream run of Filipino Harry Vergara in the semi-finals and receives the $20,000 runner-up’s prize in a tournament that saw him secure Reyes Cup and Mosconi Cup debuts on the respective teams.
The Reyes Cup, between Asia and the Rest of the World, takes place from October 16-19 in Manila, Philippines, before the inaugural Philippines Open Championship is held from October 21-26 in Quezon City.
