Jayson Shaw Leaves the Table for Nearly an Hour During Da Nang Pool Exhibition Series

DA NANG – An international pool exhibition series between Jayson Shaw (Scotland) and Duong Quoc Hoang (Vietnam) in Da Nang was halted for nearly an hour on the third day of play, after the Scottish player disagreed with how the referee applied the break-shot rule. The two cueists were in the middle stretch of a race-to-120 series, 30 racks per day over roughly six days. At the moment the dispute broke out the score stood at 72-75, with Shaw marginally behind his opponent. The incident began on a break shot by Shaw. The referee ruled that the break exceeded the power limit agreed before the match; Shaw rejected that interpretation. The content of the exchange was not disclosed, but the argument dragged on and the Scottish player left the playing area. Duong Quoc Hoang also left his seat during the same period. Only after nearly an hour did the table come back into use. Representatives of both players, together with the organisers and the referee, worked off-table and re-agreed how the break rule would be applied; the third day of play was then completed on schedule. No disciplinary measure has been announced, and the organisers have not issued a formal statement on the matter. Word of the stoppage spread quickly through domestic pool forums. Opinion split two ways: one camp argued that a world-class cueist must keep a professional attitude in front of the crowd, the other raised the question of a rule said to have been agreed beforehand yet interpreted differently mid-match. Following the action live in Da Nang, the notable point was not the outcome of any single rack. Shaw's powerful break is a well-known weapon, while the Da Nang format caps break power to protect both the exhibition value and the table itself. The mismatch between a power specialist and a rule designed to limit that power is a friction between technique and regulation rather than an incident of form. As for the two main figures, Jayson Shaw won the U.S. Open in 2026 and the Hanoi Open in 2026, has taken Mosconi Cup MVP honours three times and has captained the European side. Duong Quoc Hoang is regarded as Vietnam's leading player and a regular pick for match-ups against international cueists. That a central coastal city is staging a series featuring a top-ranked global player says something about Vietnam's standing in the regional game. Da Nang's pool movement grew strongly from the mid-1990s, and the city is now one of the country's main centres for the sport. What remains unresolved sits with the organisers. If the break-power rule is not written down and signed off before the opening shot, similar scenes are likely to recur on the remaining days of play, and the cost will land on the promoter's side of the ledger.