Jo Ye-eun pulled off a major upset in the women's LPBA round of 64, defeating "Cambodian Express" Sruong Pheavy of Woori Financial Capital.
Playing Monday at the PBA Stadium in Kintex, Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, Jo beat Sruong 25-12 in 16 innings in the third tour of the 2026-2027 season to advance to the round of 32.
Jo seized control from the opening innings, scoring four points in the first and five in the second to race out to a 9-2 lead after just two innings. With the gap narrowed to 11-5, she went on a 5-1-1 scoring run over three consecutive innings starting from the seventh, stretching her lead to 18-9 — a double-score margin. Jo closed out the match in the 16th inning, adding the final point from a 24-12 lead. Her round-of-64 average of 1.563 was the best among all players in the round.
Jo, who made her debut in the 2021-2022 season, has reached the round of 32 three times — her best career result on tour. A former SK Rent-a-Car player, she went undrafted in this season's draft and failed to secure a spot in the team league. After finishing in the round of 128 in each of the first two tournaments this season, she pulled off a stunning upset to reach the round of 32.
Now chasing a new personal best, Jo will face Jeon Ji-yeon in the round of 32 on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. Sruong, who claimed her 10th career title at the second tour's Hana Card Championship, saw her bid for back-to-back titles end with the unexpected defeat.
With Sruong eliminated in the round of 64, "queen of billiards" Kim Ga-young of Hana Card also advanced to the round of 32, defeating Seo Yu-ri 23-14 in 28 innings.
yjc@heraldcorp.com
