Universal Open HCMC Day 3: Orcollo Exits as Field Cuts to Last 64
All 52 one-loss ties completed Friday at Sniper Billiards Club — Dennis Orcollo, Bernie Regalario and Harry Vergara exit while 16 Vietnamese reach the knockout rounds.
HO CHI MINH CITY — The Universal Open is down to 64. All 52 one-loss ties on Friday's card at Sniper Billiards Club are complete, and the day's loudest line is a farewell: Filipino great Dennis Orcollo is out, beaten 9-7 by Nien Rong Chih in the second losers' round.
What happened to Dennis Orcollo?
Orcollo had kept his week alive since Hoang Thai Duy's day-one hill-hill ambush, winning his morning rescue tie 8-2 over Do Thanh My. But Nien Rong Chih — sent to the one-loss side by world No. 1 Aloysius Yapp on Thursday — edged the race-to-nine, and one of the field's most feared names goes home short of the knockout rounds.
He did not leave alone. Harry Vergara fell 8-9 on the hill-hill to Jefrey Roda, and featured No. 17 Bernie Regalario exited without a ball potted — marked a forfeit 0-0 against Christopher Alexander, who then lost 5-9 to Fraser Patrick anyway. Chiang Po Hsun went 4-9 to Alexis Ferrer, James Oyangoren was whitewashed 9-0 by Mickey Krause hours after whitewashing Huynh Johnny 8-0 himself, and Yapp's first-round opponent Wan Kwok Ho went 6-9 to Michael Feliciano.
How did Carlo Biado handle life on the one-loss side?
Quietly and quickly. Two days after Trinh Van Binh's 9-6 upset, the world No. 2 took his first rescue tie 9-3 over Tong Ba Minh, the home player who had beaten Artem Loboda 8-5 that morning. Biado's reward is a knockout debut Saturday against unbeaten Chang Sheng Yi — a match nobody had on the bingo card.
How strong is the home contingent now?
Sixteen of the last 64 are Vietnamese — eight unbeaten, eight through the one-loss side. Friday's survivors: Luong Van Nam (9-1 Kemnark Kittisak), Nguyen Gia Bao (9-7 Nguyen Cong Hoang), Nguyen Dang Tuyen (9-7 Chau Chieu Minh), Nguyen Phuong Thao (9-4 Billy Robiansyah), Quach Vi Nam (9-7 Aljulanda Alshiyadi), Truong Hoang Lam (9-6 David Keith Dennison), Dinh Chan Kiet (9-5 Ho So Phat) and Vu Van Minh (9-2 Chang Yi Wei).
But the day cost the hosts dearly — 26 of the 52 eliminated players were Vietnamese, among them day-one giant-killer Nguyen Manh Duc (4-9 to Chang Chia Hua), Tong Ba Minh to Biado, and hill-hill losers Le Van Quyen (8-9 Nicholas Tan), Luong Chi Dung (8-9 Kenichi Uchigaki) and Nguyen Viet Tam (8-9 Kouki Sugiyama). Five of the twenty round-one ties closed as forfeits, recorded 0-0 on the bracket.
What is on the slate for day four?
Single elimination begins Saturday — all 32 round-of-64 ties across three session blocks, raced to ten, every pairing an unbeaten player against a one-loss survivor. The pick of the draw: world No. 1 Yapp against England's Marcel Price, Trinh Van Binh against Hsieh Chia Chen, Duong Quoc Hoang against Marvin Asis, Hoang Thai Duy against Alexis Ferrer and Johann Chua against Julian Serradilla — while Biado-Chang Sheng Yi and Cao Van Hao against Orcollo-slayer Nien Rong Chih headline the undercard. One tie is guaranteed all-Vietnamese: Luong Duc Thien against Nguyen Dang Tuyen.
Is Carlo Biado still in the tournament?
Yes — he won his first losers' tie 9-3 over Tong Ba Minh and opens the knockout rounds Saturday against unbeaten Chang Sheng Yi.
Where can I follow the scores?
Live on the official Digital Pool bracket; the tournament streams on WNT.TV.
Scores verified against the official Digital Pool bracket and the Ncue Media event hub.