The group stage saw Chien (world no. 8) compete against fellow countryman Nguyen Quoc Nguyen (world no. 16), Cho Jae-ho (Republic of Korea, world no. 7) and Orak Turgay (Turkey, world no. 123).
The “Jook Bang” format is applied, with the four group members joining in a single match. Each match lasts 45 minutes before the break and 45 after. Each player receives 30 points at the start of the session. When a player scores one point, three points will be deducted from the initial points of the other three players.
The bid for Group C’s two quarterfinal berths proceeded in an exciting fashion, with Chien, Cho and Turgay alternately taking the lead. At the end of the first half, Chien and Cho scored 28 points, while Turgay led the group with 52 points.
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Vietnam's Tran Quyet Chien ranks second in Group C with 68 points.
The initial and middle stage of the second half witnessed Chien’s strong resurgence as he climbed to the top with 81 points, followed by Cho with 77 and Turgay with 55. However, in the last three turns, both Chien and Cho failed to score a single point, enabling Turgay to wrap up the match with 88 points. Chien ranked second overall with 68 points, three ahead of third-placed Cho and 48 clear of Nguyen Quoc Nguyen.
With the result, Tran Quyet Chien and Orak Turgay have qualified for the quarterfinals, while Cho Jae-ho and Nguyen Quoc Nguyen will join the ten other losers from the remaining five groups in a tournament (consisting of three groups of four) to compete for the last four quarterfinal berths, which will be granted to the three group winners and the best second-placed player.
In the quarterfinals, 16 eligible cueists will be divided into four groups of four, playing according to the same format as in the group stage. Accordingly, the two top performers from each group will move through to the semifinals.
The 24 players are divided into six groups of four.
The 2019 Survival 3C Masters Istanbul is taking place from August 21 to 24, gathering 20 of the best cueists in the world and four wildcard holders determined by hosts Turkey. The tournament offers a huge prize fund of US$241,600, including US$50,000 for the winner, US$21,000 for the runner-up, US$18,000 for third place and US$15,000 for fourth place. Each player has already pocketed US$5,200 by accepting to participate in the event.
