Vietnam's Hoang Thai Duy stuns Dennis Orcollo as Universal Open completes round one
The home player edged the Filipino great in Thursday's headline tie as the final twelve first-round matches settled — with the second round already under way in Ho Chi Minh City.
HO CHI MINH CITY — Hoàng Thái Duy produced the result the home crowd came for on Thursday morning, edging Filipino great Dennis Orcollo in the closing first-round block as all 64 opening ties settled at the Universal Open Ho Chi Minh.
The Vietnamese international's defeat of Orcollo — a former World 8-ball champion and one of the Philippines' most decorated players — headlined the final twelve ties of round one at Sniper Billiards Club and sent the veteran to the one-loss side.
Vietnam took three of the morning's twelve ties on the winners' side in all: Nguyễn Viết Tâm beat Taiwan's Liu Chien Hung and Nguyễn Anh Tuấn saw off Chang Chiu Lang alongside Thái Duy's scalp. Anton Raga won the Filipino contingent's meeting with Hồ Minh Hánh, while Marvin Asis, Damian Massey, Jefrey Roda, Genesis Quano, Chang Yu Lung, Julian Serradilla and Michael Feliciano also advanced. Thailand's Kemnark Kittisak progressed past Max Eberle in a tie the official bracket records without rack scores.
Seventeen home players in total reached the winners' second round. Of the event's 11 featured names, eight hold the winners' side — Aloysius Yapp, Carlo Biado, Johann Chua, Robbie Capito, Oliver Szolnoki, Mickey Krause, Wu Kun Lin and Raga — with Bernie Regalario, Jeffrey Ignacio and James Aranas already in the one-loss bracket after Wednesday's upsets.
The second round is already under way: the first winners'-side block went to the tables on Thursday morning with Yapp against Nien Rong Chih, Wu against Chang Tzu Chien and Lường Đức Thiện against Chang Yi Wei among the ties in play. Dương Quốc Hoàng meets Zhuang Zhi Yu and Biado faces Trịnh Văn Bình in the next wave, while Thái Duy's reward for toppling Orcollo is a meeting with the Philippines' Michael Feliciano. The one-loss side also begins Thursday, where the race-to-eight ties bring the event's first eliminations — the double-elimination phase runs to the last 64 before the bracket cuts to straight knockout, building to Sunday's race-to-13 final and the $15,000 top prize from the $63,000 fund.
Sources: outcomes as recorded on the official Digital Pool bracket, with fixtures cross-checked against the event hub. Rack scores from the final block are not yet independently confirmed and are not cited. See our day-one wrap and draw coverage.
