Nguyen Tran Thanh Tao staged a comeback to defeat Sayginer, winning the PBA Tour championship and earning over 1.5 billion VND

Player Nguyen Tran Thanh Tao achieved a remarkable milestone for Vietnamese billiards by claiming the championship at the 2026-2027 PBA Tour's second leg (SY PBA Championship 2026) in South Korea.

In the final match on the evening of August 3, the cueist born in 1997 came from behind to defeat legend Semih Sayginer (Turkey) 4-3, securing his first PBA Tour title and receiving a prize of 100 million won (over 1.5 billion VND).

Nguyen Tran Thanh Tao is the younger brother of cueist Nguyen Tran Thanh Tu and one of three new faces of Vietnamese billiards joining the PBA Tour ahead of the 2026-2027 season, alongside Dao Van Ly and Thon Viet Hoang Minh. The presence of this trio raised the number of Vietnamese players competing in the Korean professional three-cushion carom system to a record 8.

Thanh Tao's path to the title was highly convincing as he successively overcame renowned opponents. In the round of 32, the Vietnamese cueist defeated Lutfi Cenet (Turkey) 3-1, then beat Shin Jung Ju (South Korea) and Burak Hashas (Turkey) both 3-2 to reach the semifinals.

In the semifinals, Thanh Tao caused a major upset by defeating Choi Sung Won (South Korea) 4-1. Choi Sung Won is the 2014 UMB world champion, a former World Cup three-cushion winner, and the PBA Tour champion for the 2023-2024 season. The Vietnamese player dominated the first set 15-3 with an 8-point run, narrowly lost the second set 13-15, then won three consecutive sets 15-6, 15-5, and 15-13 to book his spot in the final.

In the championship match, Thanh Tao faced Semih Sayginer, a Turkish legend nicknamed "The Wizard" of three-cushion carom for his creative shots. Despite falling behind at several points, the Vietnamese representative remained calm, gradually erased the deficit, and won a thrilling 4-3 victory in the deciding set to claim his first PBA Tour leg title.

The PBA Tour is a professional three-cushion carom billiards system organized by the Korean Professional Billiards Association (PBA), featuring many top players from around the world.

The legs adopt a knockout format with 128 male players competing, with the champion receiving a 100 million won prize. In recent years, this arena has witnessed a strong mark from Vietnamese billiards, as Ma Minh Cam and Nguyen Quoc Nguyen have won titles, while Ngo Dinh Nai and Nguyen Huynh Phuong Linh have both reached the finals.

Nguyen Tran Thanh Tao's championship further affirms the increasingly solid position of Vietnamese players in the PBA Tour, while marking a major step forward in the career of the 29-year-old cueist in his very first season competing at South Korea's top professional arena.