Vietnamese Billiards and the World Power Map: From Three-Cushion Carom to Snooker

In everyday language, the term billiards is often lumped into a single concept. Among professionals, it is a family of sports with at least five major branches: snooker, American 9-ball, American 8-ball, Chinese 8-ball and carom. Each branch has its own rulebook, its own technical foundations and its own tournament-and-sponsorship ecosystem. Identifying the right branch is the mandatory first step before analysing any player or event, because a snooker player who excels at building long breaks cannot automatically transfer that skill to 9-ball, where the quality of the break shot and cue-ball control decide the frame. In Vietnam, the most widely followed branch is carom, particularly three-cushion carom, a pocketless discipline in which the cue ball must contact at least three cushions before striking the two object balls. It is a game built on calculating rebound angles, managing spin and controlling speed at an extreme level of difficulty. Tran Quyet Chien is the most prominent Vietnamese name in international carom, alongside Nguyen Duc Anh Chien, Nguyen Quoc Nguyen, Ma Minh Cam and Chiem Hong Thai. In September 2026, Bao Phuong Vinh became the first Vietnamese player to win the world three-cushion title, beating Tran Quyet Chien in an all-Vietnamese final at the world championship organised by the Union Mondiale de Billiard (UMB) in Ankara, Turkey. That milestone marked the first time the world three-cushion crown went to a Vietnamese cueist. The international carom calendar runs on several tiers. The top tier is the world championship, where the field is limited and entry is largely determined by ranking. Below it sits the UMB World Cup series, staged in rotation across several countries, with Vietnam having hosted a leg in Ho Chi Minh City on multiple occasions. World Cup legs typically feature qualifiers, a round-robin group stage and a knockout bracket, which produces a moderate upset window: a player in peak form can eliminate a top seed in a short match, but rarely sustains a deep run without long-term consistency. The world power map splits fairly clearly by discipline. In snooker, the United Kingdom remains the centre, with the 2026-born golden generation of Ronnie O'Sullivan, John Higgins and Mark Williams still wielding influence. China has risen strongly in both snooker and Chinese 8-ball, backed by a large youth-development system and numerous domestic events. In three-cushion carom, Europe, particularly Turkey, the Netherlands and Belgium, together with South Korea and Vietnam, forms the leading group. The rise of Chinese 8-ball with its large prize funds is also creating a new pull, forcing some cueists to weigh up which branch to commit to. On governance and compliance, each branch has its own governing body: the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) and World Snooker Tour run snooker, the UMB runs carom, and the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) oversees pool disciplines. Integrity is an existential issue. In 2026, John Higgins was suspended for six months and fined 75,000 pounds for failing to report an approach, though he was cleared of match-fixing. In 2026, ten Chinese players were banned after a large-scale investigation into betting and result manipulation. These cases show that professional billiards must maintain tight oversight, especially as sports betting becomes more widespread. On the career ecosystem, a professional cueist's income comes from prize money, personal sponsorship deals and exhibition work. That structure carries high risk: most players are not in the high-earning bracket, and income depends heavily on deep runs at events with solid prize funds. Psychology therefore plays a decisive role, particularly on key shots and in finals. A technically strong player with fragile nerves often fails to convert an advantage into titles. The billiards industry chain runs in three layers. Upstream covers the club scene, tables, cues, chalk and related equipment. Midstream covers players, tournaments and broadcast rights. Downstream covers sponsorship, derivative products and the collectibles market. In Vietnam, a dense network of carom clubs in major cities supplies a rich talent pool, but converting grassroots enthusiasm into professionalism remains the bottleneck. The lack of a structured youth circuit and a regular international competition pathway leaves many promising cueists stuck at semi-professional level. Looking ahead, three trends are worth tracking: first, competition between disciplines for players and audiences, especially as Chinese 8-ball prize funds rise quickly; second, pressure for transparency and integrity as sports betting expands; third, the race to develop young talent among countries with billiards traditions. For Vietnam, the grassroots three-cushion base is already established and recent international titles show considerable potential. What is still missing is a sufficiently professional training and competition system to turn that potential into lasting strength.