Vietnamese Nguyen Quoc Nguyen finished second at the World Union of Billiards (UMB) World Cup Porto, which closed early Monday in Portugal.

Nguyen Quoc Nguyen (left) in podium with his silver trophy of the World Union of Billiards (UMB) World Cup Porto, which closed in Portugal on Monday. 

The Cup ended with an all-Asian final as the top European players were all eliminated before the penultimate round. Nguyen was defeated by South Korean Kim Haeng-jik 34-40 in 21 innings.

Kim opened with a run of nine to take an early lead. But he gave up the lead at the break when Nguyen made a run of nine to go ahead 20-18.

In the second half of the match, it was Kim who played a more consistent offence and more challenging defence. Nguyen, world No 14, missed some key shots, which enabled Kim, No 2, to comfortably reach 40.

Heo Jung-han of South Korea and Lutfi Cenet of Turkey shared the third position.

It was Nguyen’s best result at the tournament. On the previous two occasions, he finished third.

Kim, meanwhile, added one more title to his collection, which now includes four Junior Wolrd Championships and the 2015 Asian Championship. 

VNS