Quyet is Still the Number One Tran. The Blois Three Cushion Challenge Concludes 2025 Season.

A small player, in pounds and centimeters, but a giant in talent. Quyet Chien Tran has won the Blois 3-cushion Challenge, beating world champion Frédéric Caudron 50-15 in 19/18 innings. The standard bearer of Vietnamese billiards and one of the most precise players on tour, had a few lesser months, and his countrymen Thanh Luc Tran and Phuong Vinh Bao were knocking on the door. Still, Quyet Chien remains the Vietnamese number one, with an LG Cup to his name, four World Cups, a silver at the World Championships, and now the Blois 3-cushion Challenge.   

Thanh Luc Tran had maybe made the strongest impression on Day One and Day Two, but Sameh Sidhom, Eddy Merckx and Frédéric Caudron also looked eager to win this title. And of course, Jaspers, who as we know is never quite out of it until the ref says he is. The semifinals on Sunday were a double confrontation between Belgium and Vietnam, with both countries winning and losing one. Thanh Luc Tran was eliminated by Caudron: 50-42 in 28. Eddy Merckx lost his semi to Quyet Chien Tran: 50-23 in 22/21.

From the quarterfinals:  

Sidhom – Q.C. Tran 43-50 in 25/26 

H.J. Kim – Merckx 19-50 in 22/23

T.L. Tran – Jaspers 50-43 in 34/33 

Tasdemir – Caudron 44-50 in 15 

That last match, between two of the true artists of the game, was the best of the week. Tasdemir ran a 17, but he couldn’t shake the Belgian who had the better finish. Caudron could not repeat his fluent play in the final, where Tran dominated. 

The event in Blois was praised for its atmosphere, and it also delivered a high standard of play. In the group stage, where Kiraz, Blomdahl, Bao, Bury, Horn, Thai, Karakurt and Panaia were eliminated, no fewer than six matches over 3.000 average were played. Caudron added another 3+ when he beat Tasdemir in 15 , in an spectacular  match of both players . Two outsiders must have been really happy with the way they performed: Jose Juan Garcia (1.919) and Mikael Devogelaere (1.652). Myung Woo Cho, one of the favorites, went out against Merckx in the round of 16. 

The best match in Blois was played by Myung Woo Cho: 40 in 10. 

The best individual general average was also played by Cho: 2.189. 

The high run was made by Tasdemir: 17.

UMB.