Universal Open Ho Chi Minh Day 1: Seeds Roll, Duong Leads Home Charge
Fifty-two of 64 first-round ties are done at Sniper Billiards Club. The seeds mostly held, seven Filipinos dropped to the one-loss side, and 14 Vietnamese winners fed a loud home crowd.
HO CHI MINH CITY — Day one of the Universal Open Ho Chi Minh is in the books: 52 of the 64 first-round ties were completed across five session blocks Wednesday at Sniper Billiards Club, and the seeded names largely held serve on a day that belonged, more than anything, to the host contingent.
Did the top seeds come through unscathed?
Almost entirely. World No. 1 Aloysius Yapp opened the tournament on the TV table and was made to work for it, closing out Hong Kong's Wan Kwok Ho 9-7. World No. 2 Carlo Biado never looked troubled in a 9-3 win over Nguyen Hoang Minh Tai, and Philippines Open champion Johann Chua was even sharper, beating Ho So Phat 9-1. Robbie Capito (9-4 over Nguyen Gia Bao), Oliver Szolnoki (9-4 over Ngo Hong Thang) and Mickey Krause (9-0 over Nguyen Huu Anh Tuan) all advanced comfortably.
Krause's was one of six 9-0 whitewashes on the day — Chang Yi Wei, Jerson Cumayas, Alexis Ferrer, John Vincent Vicedo and Patric Gonzalez also kept clean sheets.
How did Duong Quoc Hoang and the home players fare?
The home hero delivered in the prime evening slot. Duong Quoc Hoang beat Taiwan's Chiang Po Hsun 9-5 in front of a full house, headlining a remarkable day for Vietnamese pool: 14 home winners reached the winners' side of round two.
The pick of the home results came from Nguyen Manh Duc, who knocked Philippine veteran James Aranas down to the one-loss side with a 9-6 win — the clearest upset of the day. Cao Van Hao edged Harry Vergara 9-7 in another home win over a Filipino, Nguyen Dang Tuyen survived the day's only hill-hill drama against Chan Fai Hang (9-8), and Luong Duc Thien dropped just one rack in a 9-1 rout of Liu Nuoen.
Which Filipinos fell to the one-loss side?
Eleven Filipinos won through on the winners' side, led by Biado and Chua. But the contingent also absorbed heavy losses: beyond Aranas and Vergara, Bernie Regalario, Jeffrey Ignacio, John Carlo Miraflor and Tristan Deocareza all start Thursday in the losers' bracket — the official bracket records those four ties without rack scores. James Oyangoren went down 9-3 to Liu Ri Teng. With the format double-elimination to the last 64, all seven remain alive but have no margin left.
What is left to play on day two?
Twelve first-round ties remain, all in Thursday's opening block from 04:00 UTC (11:00 local). The headline is a generational meeting: legend Dennis Orcollo faces home hope Hoang Thai Duy. Anton Raga meets Ho Minh Hanh, and Jefrey Roda, Genesis Quano, Michael Feliciano, Julian Serradilla and Germany's Max Eberle also open their campaigns. Winners'-side round two follows in later blocks.
Full results are tracked on the Universal Open Ho Chi Minh event hub, with live scores on the official Digital Pool bracket.
Sources: official Digital Pool bracket (Universal Open Ho Chi Minh 2026) and the NCue Media event hub.