Universal Open Ho Chi Minh Draw: Yapp Takes Top Half as Biado, Duong Anchor a Stacked Bottom
The 128-player bracket is out and play is under way — the world No. 1 and No. 2 landed on opposite sides, but Carlo Biado's half carries the Filipino armada and home hero Duong Quoc Hoang.
HO CHI MINH CITY — The draw is out and the first balls are already in the air. The Universal Open Ho Chi Minh published its 128-player bracket on the Digital Pool platform late Tuesday, and it dealt the week's two headline acts to opposite ends of the board: world No. 1 Aloysius Yapp at the head of the first half, world No. 2 Carlo Biado atop a loaded second.
Yapp opened the tournament's first session against Hong Kong's Wan Kwok Ho and was made to sweat immediately — the Singaporean trailed 5-4 early in their race to 9, per the official Digital Pool bracket. His quarter also holds two Europeans with points to prove: Oliver Szolnoki, chasing a Mosconi Cup place in the season's final ranking stretch, drew Vietnam's Ngo Hong Thang, while Denmark's Mickey Krause meets Nguyen Huu Anh Tuan. The second quarter belongs to the next Filipino wave — Robbie Capito, Jeffrey Ignacio and Bernie Regalario all landed between ties 17 and 32.
It is the bottom half, though, that will fill Sniper Billiards Club. Biado opens against Nguyen Hoang Minh Tai in the same section of the board as James Aranas and Duong Quoc Hoang — a collision course between the world No. 2 and the home favorite if both keep winning on the winners' side. Duong, Ho Chi Minh City's own, drew Taiwan's Chiang Po Hsun in Wednesday's prime evening slot (19:00 local).
The last quarter is a Filipino stronghold. Newly crowned Philippines Open champion Johann Chua faces Ho So Phat, Anton Raga meets Ho Minh Hanh, and veterans Jefrey Roda and Dennis Orcullo — who closes the first round Thursday against Hoang Thai Duy — round out the board.
Vietnam's deep home cast had early reasons to cheer: the first results on the official Digital Pool bracket were lopsided — Taiwan's Chang Yi Wei whitewashed Le Quang Tuan 9-0, while Luong Duc Thien dropped just one rack to Liu Nuoen. Top women's player Nguyen Bich Tram drew Regalario, and Nguyen Phuong Thao faces Tristan Deocareza.
Everyone gets a second life — double elimination to the last 64, races to 9 on the winners' side and 8 on the losers' — before the draw goes straight knockout: races to 10, 11 from the quarter-finals and 13 for the title and the $15,000 top prize from the $63,000 fund. With no Joshua Filler, Fedor Gorst, Jayson Shaw or Ko Pin Yi in the field, the bracket tilts further toward the Yapp–Biado duel for world No. 1 — they can only meet deep into the week.
The survivors barely get to unpack: the Universal Bangkok Open begins November 17.
Cover image: BilliardNews illustration.