"Road to Olympia Mount": Ho Chi Minh City schoolboy secures place in Quarter IV contest

The Month 2, Quarter IV contest of the 26th season brought together four contestants: Ngo Thuy Mien (Lien Ha High School, Hanoi), Pham Quang Minh (Phan Dinh Phung High School, Hanoi), Pham Dang Thanh Binh (Vo Minh Duc High School, Ho Chi Minh City), and Luong Nguyen Bao Chau (Bao Loc High School for the Gifted, Lam Dong).

Thanh Binh turns the contest around in the Overcome Obstacle round

Bao Chau made the strongest start in the Warm-up round, temporarily taking the lead with 70 points. Meanwhile, Quang Minh and Thuy Mien both had 50 points, while Thanh Binh scored 45.

In the Overcome Obstacle round, contestants had to identify a seven-letter keyword. All four earned points on the first horizontal clue with the correct answer.

For the second horizontal clue, contestants were asked to identify a missing word from a song lyric. Thuy Mien and Thanh Binh both rang the bell, but Thanh Binh gave the correct answer. The result proved a major turning point, propelling him to 105 points and into the lead. Bao Chau followed with 80 points, while Thuy Mien and Quang Minh were tied on 60.

The chase continues in the Speed-up round

The Speed-up round brought further changes to the scoreboard. Quang Minh mounted a strong challenge, gradually narrowing the gap to the leader.

Thanh Binh, however, retained a slight advantage and ended the round on 145 points. Quang Minh was close behind  on 140, while Bao Chau had 110, and Thuy Mien entered the final round  on 60.

With only five points separating Thanh Binh and Quang Minh, the Finish round remained wide open.

Decisive choices in the Finish round

As the leader, Thanh Binh was the first to enter the Finish round, selecting three 20-point questions. He answered the first correctly before giving Quang Minh  the opportunity   to answer the remaining two. Quang Minh successfully converted one of them into points.

Thanh Binh completed his turn on 145 points, temporarily surrendering the lead to Quang Minh.

Quang Minh then selected three 20-point questions. The  student from Phan Dinh Phung High School   answered two correctly,  bringing his total to 190 points and moving into the lead.

Next was Bao Chau, who also chose three 20-point questions. She scored on the first. Bao Chau finished with 130 points.

The final contestant, Ngo Thuy Mien, selected three 30-point questions. After Thanh Binh scored on her first question, the second gave Quang Minh another opportunity to score.

On the final question, the Lien Ha High School student activated the Hope Star and answered correctly, ending the contest with 90 points.

After a contest marked by repeated shifts in momentum across all four rounds, Pham Dang Thanh Binh emerged victorious in the Month 2, Quarter IV contest of the 26th season, claiming the laurel wreath  with 175 points.

This victory  secures a place for  the Vo Minh Duc High School student in the Quarter IV contest of Road to Olympia Mount 2026. Pham Quang Minh finished second with 155 points. Luong Nguyen Bao Chau and Ngo Thuy Mien shared third place, scoring 130 and 90 points, respectively.

After a closely contested competition in which the lead changed hands several times, Month 2 of Quarter IV ended with Thanh Binh’s comeback victory, built on his ability to seize key opportunities at decisive moments.