Player Duc Thien defeated the former world champion

Pagulayan entered the game better, winning the first two games, but was equalized 2-2. In this match, Duc Thien twice broke the ball and cleared the table to lead the opponent. He made a serious mistake when he missed the 9 ball in game six, causing the Filipino-Canadian player to equalize 3-3. But in the last two games, the Vietnamese representative played better to win 5-3.

In the last game, Duc Thien broke the ball but did not have a favorable position to put the number 2 ball into the hole. Instead of adding marbles, he chose the safe solution of running bullets to put Pagulayan in a difficult position. Therefore, the former world champion made a mistake of hitting ball 2, giving Duc Thien the right to place the cue ball. With a favorable position, the Vietnamese player cleared the table to create the first surprise on the third day of competition at the tournament.

45-year-old Pagulayan, nicknamed "The Lion", won three gold medals at the 2005 SEA Games in the pool content of 8-ball, 9-ball and snooker. He is only the second player in history to reach the final of the 9-ball pool world twice in 2003 and 2004, after the legendary Earl Strickland. In particular, Pagulayan won in 2004 after defeating Chang Pei-wei in the final.

After seven matches, Duc Thien won three, lost four and ranked 11th. Tonight, March 8, London time, he met the reigning world champion and current number one player Francisco Sanchez Ruiz. The Spaniard also won the world 8-ball pool champion in 2022.

Duc Thien is 31 years old from Bac Kan, has won the Vietnam 9 ball pool in 2020. Because he rarely competes internationally, he is the only player at the tournament not listed in the order of the WPA World Pool Federation.