Billiards legend apologizes to Vietnamese players
In the opening match of Group E of the 3-band carom World Cup in Las Vegas, Blomdahl defeated Van Ly 40-21 after only 11 innings. At one point, the Swedish player scored 16 points straight, and he averaged 3,636 points per turn in this match. A few minutes after the match, he wrote on Facebook: "After winning against Dao Van Ly in the group stage of the World Cup in Las Vegas, I would like to send my sincerest apologies to my opponent, friends and colleagues in Vietnam. ".
Blomdahl explained that there was a situation where he had finished his game and was awarded the score by the referee. "However, when I was about to take the next move, I realized that the previous situation the cue ball only touched two bands," the 61-year-old player wrote. "At that time, I should have left the table, but I chose to continue fighting. This was a very bad decision and I am ashamed of myself. Once again, I sincerely apologize."
Blomdahl did not elaborate on the situation he was referring to, and neither the referee nor Van Ly seemed to notice. But according to the developments on the table, it is possible that the Swede was talking about when he scored 20-17. He hit the cue ball on the cue ball, then hit the two tapes and hit the target ball at about the same time as the third tape.
In 3-band carom, the white cue ball must touch three bands before hitting the target ball, to be counted. If only two tapes are touched, the player is not counted and must give the turn to the opponent.
Blomdahl is currently sixth in the world, having won the World Championship seven times, a feat second only to Raymond Ceulemans. The 61-year-old Swedish player also holds a record of 45 World Cup wins, 18 more than second man Dick Jaspers. The World Championship has been held annually since 1928, while the World Cup has taken place about seven tournaments a year since 1986.
The three-band carom World Cup in Las Vegas is the first world tournament of 2023, taking place from February 26 to March 4, including four qualifiers, a group stage and a knockout round. The group stage consists of 32 players divided equally into eight groups, and Vietnam has four representatives including Van Ly, Tran Quyet Chien, Bao Phuong Vinh and Nguyen Duc Anh Chien.
Van Ly is ranked 247 in the world, having beaten Blomdahl 40-33 after 27 rounds at the World Cup in Ho Chi Minh City in May 2022. He was in Group E of the Las Vegas World Cup with Blomdahl, Cho Myung-woo and Dion Nelin.
