*This content was translated by AI.
The youngest and the lowest ranked players will clash in the final. It is a matchup that could not be easily expected before the start of the tournament. One of the two will be the winner of the 200 million won prize.
The final protagonists of the professional baseball PBA-LPBA World Championship have been narrowed down to two players. Kim Young-won (20, Harim) and Cho Kyung-hwi (34, SK Rent-A-Car) in the PBA, Kim Ga-young (43, Hana Card), who is trying to win the "3 consecutive World Championship" in the women's LPBA, and Han Ji-eun (25, SY), who is trying to win the LPBA for the first time, reached the final.
Kim Young-won defeated Kim Jae-geun (15-8, 15-0, 13-15, 15-3, 15-4) in the PBA semifinals of the "Hana Card Hana Capital Jeju Special Self-Governing Province PBA-LPBA World Championship" held at Halla Gymnasium in Jeju-si, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province on the 14th.
Kim Young-won showed an overwhelming performance against Kim Jae-geun. Kim Young-won, who grabbed the first set 15-8 (11 innings), won the second set 15-0 (3 innings), leading the set score 2-0 in an instant. In the third set, Kim Jae-geun recovered one set with 15-13 (13 innings) after a close game, but Kim Young-won quickly finished the fourth set with 15-3 (7 innings) and the fifth set with 15-4 (4 innings) to confirm his advance to the final.
Cho Kyung-hwi, who took the last train of the World Championship at the 32nd place in the prize money rankings, beat Kim Im-kwon 4-3 (12-15, 15-10, 9-15, 11-15, 15-3, 15-0, 15-6) to reach the final.
He was on the verge of elimination by giving up two sets from the set score 1-1, but he caught the fifth set 15-3 (3 innings) and showed a perfect 15-0 turnaround in just two innings in the sixth set. The momentum had already been passed on to Conditional Hwi. Conditional Hwi, who entered the seventh set, led 7:4, hit six long balls in the eighth inning, including two bank shots, to win the game 13-4, and advanced to the final by adding one point each in nine and 10 innings.
It is the first time for both players to advance to the World Championship finals. Kim Young-won was blocked by Kang Dong-gung (SK Rent-a-Car) in the round of 16 last season, his first world championship, and conditional Hwi was eliminated from the group stage in all three previous world championships.
In the LPBA semifinals, Kim Ga-young beat Kim Se-yeon (Huons) by a set score of 4-3, and succeeded in advancing to the final of the World Championship for the sixth consecutive time. Kim Ga-young won 11-5 (9 innings) in the sixth set, which was trailing the set score 2-3, leading the game to the last seven sets. Kim Ga-young shook off Kim Se-yeon's persistent pursuit in the last seven sets and tied the game 11-7 (8 innings).
Kim Ga-young's opponent is Han Ji-eun, the "Ice Princess." Han Ji-eun overwhelmed "team mate" Lee Woo-kyung (SW) with a set score of 4-2. Han Ji-eun, who was leading by winning the second set, was shaken by losing 6-11 (16 innings) in the fourth set of 2-11 (18 innings) in the third set, but took the lead again by taking it 11:9 (7 innings) in the fifth set. Han Ji-eun won 11-10 (11 innings) even in the sixth set, getting a ticket to the final of the first World Championship.
Kim Ga-young and Han Ji-eun's all-time LPBA record is 3 wins and 3 losses. The most recent match was the winner of Group A in the group stage of the World Championship. At that time, Han Ji-eun defeated Kim Ga-young 3-1 with a set score and won a ticket to the round of 16 as the No. 1 player in the group. However, in the semi-finals of the 2023-2024 World Championship, Kim Ga-young defeated Han Ji-eun with a set score of 4-2.
On the 15th, the last day of the competition, the PBA-LPBA final will be held. The LPBA final with 100 million won in prize money will be held at 4 p.m., and the PBA final with 200 million won in prize money will be held at 8:30 p.m. All of the finals will be held in the best-of-seven series.
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*This content was translated by AI.
