Road to Olympia Mount: Hanoi schoolboy dominates with 390 points to advance to the monthly round

The competition brought together four contestants: Tran Minh Bao (Mac Dinh Chi High School, Ho Chi Minh City), Dang Ba Quan (Nghe An Ethnic Boarding High School), Pham Quang Minh (Phan Dinh Phung High School, Hanoi), and Tran Tat Thang (Le Hong Phong High School for the Gifted, Ninh Binh).

Quang Minh  gained an early lead in the Warm-up round by correctly answering all six questions in his individual turn, earning him  60 points. By the time all the individual turns had been completed, the Hanoi schoolboy had reached 100 points, followed by Tat Thang with 60, Ba Quan with 30 and Minh Bao with 20.

In the General Warm-up, Quang Minh continued to ring the bell and secure points, thus  maintaining his lead.

The Overcome Obstacle round challenged contestants to identify a five-letter keyword based on clues about Asia and Japan. Before all four horizontal clues had been revealed, Quang Minh rang the bell with the answer “ASIAD”. His correct response took the Phan Dinh Phung High School student to 150 points.

After two rounds, Quang Minh  was in the lead with 150 points, followed by Tat Thang with 60, while Ba Quan and Minh Bao were tied on 30.

The Speed-up round saw Quang Minh and Tat Thang continue to compete for points. Contestants faced questions requiring quick thinking on topics including gamma rays, arranging postage stamps and  identifying  a missing number.

None of the four contestants answered the third question correctly. In the final question, about rubber trees, Quang Minh submitted his answer in just 3.32 seconds, taking his total to 260 points and extending his lead. Tat Thang followed with 150 points, while Ba Quan  and Minh Bao had 60 and  40 points respectively.

In the Finish round, Quang Minh was the first to compete, selecting a set of three 20-point questions. Although he failed to score on the opening question, he answered the remaining two correctly,   strengthening his lead.

Tat Thang also chose three 20-point questions. After he failed to score on the first two, Quang Minh rang the bell on both occasions and added to his total. Tat Thang then activated the Hope Star for his final question and gave the correct answer.

Ba Quan was next, selecting another set of three 20-point questions. After Ba Quan answered the first question incorrectly, Quang Minh seized the opportunity to ring the bell and earn more points. No contestant answered the second question correctly. On the third question, which was presented in English, Tat Thang rang the bell and gave the correct response.

Minh Bao was the last contestant to enter the Finish round, choosing three 20-point questions. After Minh Bao answered incorrectly, Quang Minh seized the opportunity to answer the final question and got it right.

At the end of all four rounds, Pham Quang Minh  was crowned  the winner with an impressive 390 points. Tran Tat Thang finished second with 170 points, while Dang Ba Quan scored 20 and Tran Minh Bao ended the competition with zero points.

The victory secured Quang Minh a place in the Month 2, Quarter IV contest alongside Pham Dang Thanh Binh (Vo Minh Duc High School, Ho Chi Minh City), Ngo Thuy Mien (Lien Ha High School, Hanoi), and Luong Nguyen Bao Chau (Bao Loc High School for the Gifted, Lam Dong).

The victory advances Quang Minh to the next stage of Road to Olympia 2026. After the competition, the student from Phan Dinh Phung High School expressed his happiness at having given his best. He also said he hoped to maintain his friendships with his fellow contestants and fulfil  his ambition of bringing the live broadcast of the annual final to Hanoi.