LONG THANH TOWN - He is the sixth top Vietnamese player to leave for the PBA. His name is well known in the international competitions: Duc Anh Chien, the runner-up at the 2019 World Championship in Randers, Denmark, where he lost the final to Torbjörn Blomdahl. The billiard club owner from Long Thanh Town, some 80 kilometers by car from Ho Chi Minh, will still play the World Cup in the Vietnamese capital from May 22-28. When he finished there, he will permanently switch to the Korean professional tour with a three-year contract, which he signed this week. Duc Anh Chien Nguyen is following the path of many top players because apparently the contracts are very attractive for the PBA and LPBA (ladies). Nguyen will play individually and is also still hoping for a team offer. Duc Anh Chien cited financial progress as the main reason, also the change of environment.
For Vietnam's top players, the adventure seems to bwe attractive. Duc Anh Chien lives five hours' by plane from Seoul, can have his wife and two sons come over and knows his billiards club is left well behind. The Vietnamese player, who has played for UMB since 2011, owns AC Billiard Club (AC stands for Anh Chien) with 23 billiards: six match tables, nine pool and eight small billiards.
Duc Anh Chien follows well-known other Vietnamese players: Quoc Nguyen Nguyen, Dinh Nai Ngo, Anh Vu Duong, Minh Cam Ma and Huynh Phi Linh. ’’I still waited a little to sign, but I don't know what we must wait for. So, in the end, I decided to go. I have played many World Cup tournaments. If I could win matches, I could earn some money, if I didn't, I lost money. At the PBA, the contract for three years is attractive and I have a guarantee that I didn't have at UMB. Besides, it's good to play in a different environment. The atmosphere and the organization are beautiful.'' The move to the PBA means a suspension from UMB tournaments for Duc Chien Nguyen. ''Also, I am not allowed to play in national tournaments, only in events in my billiards club and in other clubs.''
For the World Cup in Ho Chi Minh, Quyet Chien Tran is number 10 on the ranking list. Duc Anh Chien Nguyen received a wildcard along with another Vietnamese, Thanh Luc Tran. There are also 25 more Vietnamese on the entry list. These are the remaining players from qualifiers with some 500 players. The best-known players are Phuong Vinh Bao, Hong Chiem Thai, Tran Thanh Tu Nguyen and Trung Hau Do Nguyen.
Duc Chien: "I hear the sounds that the UMB and PBA are going to speak with each other. We all hope that there will be cooperation, which is good for all players in the world.''
Duc Anh Chien Nguyen signs the PBA contract in his billiards club