Gary Kim
The Professional Billiards Association (PBA) is back in action after a one-month hiatus.
The PBA announced on Wednesday that it will host the Huon’s PBA-LPBA Championship, the fifth tour of the PBA-LPBA 2023-24 season, at the Goyang Kintex PBA Stadium in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do, starting on April 18. It comes one month after the conclusion of the previous tour, the Eswai PBA-LPBA Championship.
After taking a break from the 19th Hangzhou Asian Games, professional billiards will resume its individual and team league schedule with this tour.
The biggest question mark is whether the season’s first domestic champion will be crowned. The last four tours have been dominated by foreigners.
In the PBA, “domestic powerhouses” Cho Jae-ho (NH Card) and Kang Dong-gung (SK Rent-a-Car), as well as Lee Sang-dae (Welcome Savings Bank), Kim Jae-geun (Crown Hae-tae), and Park In-soo (Eswai), are among the top-ranked players this season.
In the LPBA, last season’s winner, “Billiard Queen” Kim Ga-young (Hana Card), will be looking to win the most LPBA titles (6).
The two-day LPBA qualifiers will begin on the 18th, followed by the LPBA Opening Ceremony on the 21st at 1:30pm and the LPBA Finals on the 23rd at 7pm to determine the women’s champion. The prize money for the LPBA is 30 million won.
On the 24th, the PBA Round of 128 will be held, starting with the PBA Opening Ceremony at 1:30 p.m. on the 26th and the Finals at 7 p.m. on the 30th. The PBA championship prize is 100 million won. 스포츠토토맨