Vietnamese Billiards on the Journey to Conquer International Arena: Current Status and Lessons from History

In a fiercely competitive international tournament, when every touch on the table is measured in millimeters and psychological pressure can decide everything, a young billiards player from Vietnam entered the knockout round with the posture of someone who has nothing to lose. He was neither a favorite nor carried impressive accolades from the past, but in his eyes burned something many bigger stars have lost: the burning desire to prove himself. That match, regardless of the outcome, exposed a clear picture of Vietnam's actual position in the world billiards landscape — and raised a question we have delayed for too long. Billiards is not a sport born to be easy. At the professional level, each shot is a complex geometry problem — reflection angles, cue power, ball speed, all must harmonize in a moment lasting less than a second. Meanwhile, opponents are not just sitting across the table but represent an entire system of thorough preparation, with tactics studied meticulously through hundreds of hours of video analysis. This is why, in my 27 years of following major tournaments, countries dominating world billiards like China, England, or Taiwan don't just have excellent players but an entire supporting ecosystem: from internationally-standard training facilities and professional coaching teams to stable sponsorship sources allowing athletes to pursue their careers with peace of mind. Vietnam, despite significant progress in recent years, is still in the foundation-building phase. We are not lacking talent — that has been proven in numerous regional tournaments where young players made strong impressions from the very first rounds. The problem lies in the fact that individual talent cannot replace a system. A player may perform excellently in the first three matches, but without technical, psychological, and financial support, he will quickly reveal limitations he cannot overcome alone. This is not a pessimistic observation, but simply a reality that anyone deeply following billiards can recognize. Notably, as other Southeast Asian countries are also actively investing in billiards, competition is occurring not only at the level of scale but also at the speed of development. The Philippines, with its long billiards tradition and stable domestic tournament system, already has players competing regularly at international events. China, with abundant financial resources, has made billiards one of the nationally prioritized sports. Meanwhile, Vietnam is still in the process of establishing a clear roadmap for professional billiards. This delay is not due to lack of attention, but because we haven't had a comprehensive enough strategy to transform scattered talents into a uniform force. One of the biggest challenges Vietnamese billiards faces is limited public awareness. While football or swimming receive significant attention and resources, billiards are often categorized as entertainment or amateur sport. This perception needs to change, because internationally, billiards has been recognized as a serious competitive sport with professional tournament systems, attractive incomes, and clear career development opportunities. Vietnam can absolutely nurture billiards stars if we recognize and invest appropriately. However, this is not the time for pessimism. On the contrary, the current period can be seen as a golden opportunity to lay solid foundations. Positive signals have emerged: increasing interest from young people, the appearance of high-quality billiards halls in major cities, and particularly growing awareness among sports administrators about billiards' potential. What matters is that we need strategic action, not momentary emotional responses. A professional billiards development plan needs to include three core elements: systematic youth talent training from the ground up, creating regular international competition environments for athletes to gain experience, and building professional media systems to elevate billiards' status in the public eye. Billiards, ultimately, is not just about shots on the table. It is a story about patience, about the ability to concentrate absolutely in decisive moments, and about the will to never give up even when everything seems against you. With these values, billiards fully deserves appropriate investment and development in Vietnam. The question is no longer "Can we do it?" but "Where will we start?" And the answer, I believe, lies in the determination to build a system, rather than just waiting for exceptional individuals to emerge randomly.