Defeats Ko Eun-kyung 25-7 in eight innings in round of 64
Kim Ga-young (43, Hana Card), widely regarded as the queen of Korean billiards, advanced to the round of 32 at the LPBA tour with the third-highest single-match average in the tour's history.
Playing Thursday at the Hi1 Resort Grand Hotel Convention Tower in Jeongseon-gun, Gangwon Province, Kim defeated Ko Eun-kyung 25-7 in eight innings in the round of 64 of the 2026-27 season's second tour event, the Hi1 Resort PBA-LPBA Championship.
Kim managed only two points through the first three innings but erupted for five in the fourth and a high run of seven in the fifth, pulling away to a 14-2 lead. She closed out the remaining five points across innings six through eight to seal the 25-7 win. Earlier that day, she had breezed past Oh Su-min 25-2 in 18 innings in the round of 128.
Kim's average for the round-of-64 match was 3.125, the third highest ever recorded in LPBA competition, behind Nguyen Hoang Yen Nhi of Vietnam (3.571) and Kim Se-yeon (3.143). Her previous personal best was 2.750.
Kim claimed her 19th career title just 10 days ago at the season opener, and her strong start here has drawn attention to the prospect of a landmark 20th. The victory also pushed her career prize money to 961.13 million won (about $629,000), putting her within striking distance of the 1 billion won milestone.
Among other round-of-64 results, Sroung Pheavy — known as the "Cambodian Express" — along with Lee Mi-rae, Jang Ga-yeon and Kim Sang-a all advanced to the round of 32, as did established LPBA contenders Kang Ji-eun, Jeong Su-bin, Han Ji-eun and Kim Se-yeon. Season-opener runner-up Kim Min-a, along with Kim Bo-mi, Kim Jin-a, Im Jeong-suk and Baek Min-ju, were eliminated.
On the tournament's third day Friday, the official opening ceremony kicks off proceedings before the PBA (men's) round of 128 and the first day of LPBA round-of-32 play get underway.
yjc@heraldcorp.com
