‘The Dignity of a Queen’ Kim Ga-young wins multiple victories + prize money… ‘Perfect Queen Coronation’ first final Kim Sang-ah runner-up, overtook Piave
Kim Ga-young (40-Hanakkad) was in a different class. Kim Sang-ah (35), who reached her first career final, had a lot of momentum, but it wasn’t enough to overcome her.
Kim topped Kim Sang-ah 4-1 (11-4, 10-11, 11-4, 11-4, 11-4, 11-3) in the best-of-seven final of the Huon’s LPBA Championship, the fifth tour of the Professional Billiards Association (PBA) 2023-2024 season, at the Goyang Kintex PBA Stadium in Goyang City, Ilsan Province, Gyeonggi-do, Korea, on March 23.
After lifting the trophy for the sixth time, Kim was crowned ‘Cambodia’s Billiard Hero’ (33-Blue One Resort) for the most wins in the LPBA.
Despite her reputation as a “pool queen,” Kim has been the most consistent star in the LPBA since its inception. She met defending champion Kim Gap-sun in the round of 16 and fellow five-time champion Lim Jung-sook (37-Crown Hae-tae) in the semifinals earlier in the tournament.
Lim was also a strong favorite to win the title, but she held a 4-1 head-to-head advantage over her opponent. She has been consistent this season, finishing runner-up in her opening event (Gyeongju Blue One Resort Championship) and reaching her third quarterfinal of the season after reaching the final four in her previous tour (Eswai Championship).
He dropped the first set but leveled the match in 10 games in the second. After winning the third set 11-9, Kim carried the momentum into the fourth set to reach her 11th career final.
Her final opponent was one of the biggest upsets of the tournament. Kim Sang-ah has been competing regularly since turning pro, but her best result was the quarterfinals last season.
After taking the first set 11-4, Kim battled back to tie the second set at 10-10. In the seventh, Kim closed out the match to level the score at 1-1.
But there would be no more upsets. With five high runs and six bank shots in the third set, Kim seized the momentum and won the fourth set 11-4. The tide was already turning for Kim. She struggled to score in the fifth set, but it didn’t matter. With this win, she tied Piavi for the most wins in her career.
She also added 30 million won to her prize fund from 236.4 million won to become the first female player to reach 316.4 million won. This further widened the gap between her and second-place finisher Piavi (KRW 202.92 million).
In the men’s division (PBA Tour), Kim took a step closer to tying Frederick Koudron’s (BEL) record of seven titles.
Kim Sang-ah, who reached his first ever final, had to settle for runner-up. The 10 million won prize pool was a promising sign of things to come. 카지노사이트
Jeon won the Well-Banked Top Ranking (KRW 2 million), which is awarded to the player with the highest average, with an average of 1.786 against Kim Jin-ah (Hana Card) in the Round of 64.
During the post-match interview, Kim took the microphone at the awards ceremony and said, “This tournament has a special meaning. My parents really like billiards. They want to come every day, but I always tell them, ‘Come to the semifinals,’ or ‘Come to the final,’ so I’m very grateful,” she said, adding, “I will try to work harder in the future and show a good performance.”