Teenage players Lee Seung-hee, 16, and Han Ji-hye, 17, cleared the Q round — the qualifying stage — to reach the round of 128 in the women's LPBA division of the PBA professional billiards tour.
The Q round of the LPBA women's division wrapped up Wednesday at the Grand Hotel Convention Tower of High1 Resort in Jeongseon-gun, Gangwon Province, as part of the 2026-2027 season's second tour event, the "High1 Resort PBA-LPBA Championship." Lee defeated Min Jeong-hee 13-11 in 32 innings, while Han edged Kim Hye-jeong 15-14 in 29 innings to advance.
Born in 2009, Lee is the youngest player in the LPBA this season. She made her debut through the LPBA tryout but was eliminated in the Q round of the season opener, the Woori Financial Capital Championship. Han, born in 2008, also debuted via the tryout.
Both players face tough opponents in the round of 128. Lee takes on Kim Ye-eun Thursday morning, while Han meets Kim Da-hee that afternoon.
In other Q-round action Wednesday, inaugural LPBA champion Kim Gap-seon beat Choi Bo-bi 17-12 in 33 innings, and Kim Sa-rang routed Lee Ye-seul 20-7 in 31 innings to also advance. Choi Bom-i, however, was eliminated in her first match of the tournament, falling to Choi Ji-young 2 by a score of 12-19 in 28 innings.
On Thursday, the tournament's second day, the LPBA field moves into the rounds of 128 and 64. Defending champion Kim Ga-young joins the competition from the round of 128 onward, along with other top LPBA players including Kim Min-a, Sruong Pheavy, Kang Ji-eun and Lee Mi-rae.
yjc@heraldcorp.com
