Week 2 – Month 3 – Quarter 3 of the competition brought together four exceptionally talented schoolboys: Doan Thanh Tung (Le Quy Don Specialized High School – Khanh Hoa), Nguyen Minh Dung (An Lao High School – Hai Phong), Le Thanh Phuc (Nguyen Quang Dieu Specialized High School – Dong Thap), and Nguyen The Hung (Hai Hau A High School – Nam Dinh).
The Individual Warm-up round started energetically with Thanh Tung taking the first turn. The young man displayed confidence and composure, scoring 40 points after answering six questions. Minh Dung followed with 20 points, while Thanh Phuc also impressed with 40 points, and The Hung earned 30 points.
All four contestants delivers fairly solid performances in the Warm-up round.
In the General Warm-up round, the scores notable shifted notably. Thanh Tung led with 55 points, Minh Dung followed with 45, The Hung had 40, and Thanh Phuc trailed slightly behind with 30 points.
The General Warm-up roundís filled with tension for the four young contestants.
Tension mounted as all four contestants entered the Overcome Obstacle round, where they had to solve a three-letter puzzle based on horizontal clues. The first two clues went unanswered, leaving the puzzle completely unrevealed and building the suspense.
The excitement escalated during the third clue. As soon as it was read out, Thanh Tung, The Hung, and Minh Dung all rang the bell in an attempt to solve the keyword. It was a bold move, as hardly any of the clues had been revealed.
One after another, the contestants rush to give their keyword answers even though no clues had been revealed yet.
Both Thanh Tung and Minh Dung guessed the keyword to be “Voi” (Elephant),a familiar animal that is also endangered. Thanh Phuc went in a different direction, guessing “Mua” (Rain). As it turned out, “Voi” was the correct answer. Thanks to his quick thinking and confident judgment, Thanh Tung won full points for this round, bringing his total to 95 and putting him in the lead.
The Speed-up round continued with high intensity and dramatic point chases. Thanh Tung and Minh Dung started strongly by answering the first question correctly. However, the standout performer was Thanh Phuc, who surged ahead with quick responses to the last three questions, especially the final two,to which he was the fastest responder. By the end of this round, Thanh Tung was still in the lead with 175 points, followed by Thanh Phuc with 130, Minh Dung with 115. The Hung was in last place with 100 points.
The Finish round would determine the ultimate result, with diverse performances from all four contestants, particularly highlighting two extremes: Thanh Tung's consistent performance and The Hung’s impressive comeback.
Thanh Tung was the first to take the stage in this round. He chose a safe set of 20-20-20 point questions. Unfortunately, he missed the first two questions, but managed to correctly answer the final English-language question, gaining 20 more points for a total of 195.
Next, Thanh Phuc entered the round with steady momentum. He also chose the 20-20-20 question set and answered two out of three correctly, adding 60 points and raising to his totaland placing him temporarily in second place with 160 points.
Minh Dung, third in line, opted for a more ambitious 20-20-30 set in a bold attempt to turn the game around. However, luck was not on his side. He answered the first question incorrectly, allowing Thanh Tung to gain bonus points. He failed to improve on the remaining two questions and concluded the round with no additional points, leaving him on 115.
The finish round features a remarkable comeback by The Hung that earned the admiration of all.
Last to answer was The Hung, who had been in last place after the Speed-up round. He selected the 20-20-20 package and placed his Star of Hope on the second question, showing his determination. Impressively, The Hung answered all three questions correctly, doubling his score on the second thanks to the star. In total, he scored 60 points, bringing his final score to 200 — enough to surpass Thanh Tung and become the highest-scoring runner-up, earning him a place in the next Monthly Round.
After four intense rounds, the final scores were: Minh Dung with 85 points, Thanh Phuc with 160, The Hung with an excellent 200, and the overall winner, Thanh Tung, who claimed the laurel wreath with a convincing 215 points.
