'Perfect season victory' begins, cumulative prize money nearing 1 billion won—19th career title achieved... Kim Ga-young: "Now I can speak with confidence. Tell me to become a billiard player."

*This content was translated by AI.

The cumulative prize money reaches a staggering 961.13 million won. Even including the men's division, she has climbed to second place. This is the dignity of the 'Empress' Kim Ga-young (43, Hana Card).

On the 23rd, Kim Ga-young defeated Kim Min-ah (35, NH Hana Card) with a set score of 4-2 (5-11, 9-11, 11-5, 11-9, 11-7, 11-9) in the LPBA final of the PBA-LPBA Championship, the opening tour of the 2026-2027 professional billiard season, held at 'Goyang KINTEX PBA Stadium' in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, and claimed the top spot.

With this victory, Kim Ga-young extended her career title count to 19, adding one more to the record for most titles in both men's and women's professional billiards. By winning this tournament, which offered the highest regular tour prize money of 50 million won, she brought her cumulative prize money to 961.13 million won, moving closer to becoming the first woman to surpass 1 billion won in prize money.

With this win, Kim Ga-young improved her head-to-head record against Kim Min-ah to 4 wins and 3 losses. She is expected to surpass the 1 billion won cumulative prize money mark with just one more win this season. She holds an overwhelming first place in the women's division, and even including the men's division, she has now climbed to second place, surpassing Jo Jae-ho (NH Hana Card, 948.5 million won). Now, only David Martinez (Crown Haetae, 1.0355 billion won) remains ahead of her. She also secured a one-year rental car voucher provided by title sponsor Woori Financial Capital.

In this opening match, she showcased the strength of the 'Empress' by recording the first-ever 1,000th bank shot in LPBA history, and in the round of 16, she recorded a perfect cue. The 'Welcome Top Ranking,' awarded to the player with the highest average in a single match, went to Kwon Bal-hae (SW) who recorded a 2.083 average against Kim Jung-mi in the round of 64.

The early atmosphere of the final was dominated by Kim Min-ah. Kim Ga-young lost momentum from the start of the first set and surrendered the set, and by the second set, she was pushed to the brink of defeat.

Kim Ga-young, regaining her focus, began her comeback. Starting with three points in the first inning of the third set, followed by two points in the third inning and four points in the fourth inning, she quickly built a large lead of 9-0. She added two more points in the eighth inning to win the set 11-5.

Kim Ga-young immediately took the fourth set, resetting the match. After a grueling 19-inning marathon, she defeated Kim Min-ah by a margin of two points, 11-9. In the fifth set, Kim Ga-young led with a high run of six points scored in the third inning and finished the match in just five innings with a score of 11-7, overturning the game with a set score of 3-2.

Riding the momentum, Kim Ga-young concluded the match by winning the sixth set. While Kim Min-ah lost her rhythm due to a scoreless start in the first six innings, Kim Ga-young steadily accumulated points from the fourth inning, reaching 11 points in just 11 innings. Although Kim Min-ah tied the score at 9-9 with five points in the 10th inning, Kim Ga-young immediately added two points in the next inning to repel Kim Min-ah's comeback and finished the match with a set score of 4-2.

This precious victory was achieved by overcoming poor physical condition during the match. After the game, Kim Ga-young said, "My condition wasn't great today. Regardless of whether the ball hit well or not, I think billiards is a war played on the table. No matter the state of my weapons, since I went out to the battlefield, I tried to fight my hardest." She added, "Actually, my condition had been poor since the semi-finals. Perhaps due to nervousness, parts that went well during training had holes in them on the court. I tried every possible method to get out of this bad situation, but there was no clear solution. Even when I scored points, the match ended without finding a reliable method." Despite the situation, she did not give up, found a solution, and ultimately secured a comeback victory.

Runner-up Kim Min-ah said, "Kim Ga-young's defensive positioning is at such a high level among female players, and her ability to score is so outstanding. There is a sense of pressure that whenever Kim Ga-young scores, it won't end with just one or two points." She continued, "It feels like I often face Kim Ga-young, and because she makes it difficult to play the ball, I have no choice but to start each set loosely." Kim Ga-young also showed respect for Kim Min-ah.

She said, "Kim Min-ah is a player I respect. I always learn a lot when playing against her. Although I have won more titles than Kim Min-ah, she has more experience in three-cushion billiards than I do, and she is a player who works very hard. There are many parts where I am not good, but Kim Min-ah excels in those areas. I want to watch and learn from her."

In a season aimed for a perfect season victory, she raised her momentum with a win in the opening match. Kim Ga-young said, "I have won eight consecutive titles before, but when many people asked me what my goal was, I said 'perfect season victory.'" She added, "If I hadn't won, I could have let go and worked hard, but it's a burden (laughs). Every time I participate in a tournament, I approach it with the thought 'I will win,' but that is also a burden."

The 1 billion won cumulative prize money is now within reach. Kim Ga-young laughed, saying, "I don't really know because there isn't 1 billion won in my bank account. Since 1 billion won doesn't come into my account all at once, it doesn't feel very real."

However, this achievement has significant meaning beyond simply holding a large amount of prize money. Kim Ga-young said, "Still, if I achieve 1 billion won, I think I will be able to speak with a bit more confidence. Many parents used to ask me, 'How much is your annual income?' I think I will be able to speak more confidently than before." She added, "Compared to before, the prize money is higher now, and since I am receiving sponsorship from sponsors, I think I will be able to tell parents that it is okay to let their children become billiard players."

This tournament, excluding the King of Kings match, had the largest prize money in the history of the event. Starting at 20 million won in the first season, the prize money has gradually increased along with the players' skills, and in this tournament, it reached 50 million won, now half the level of the men's tournament (1 billion won).

Kim Ga-young said, "In the early days of the LPBA's launch, I thought the prize money should be half of the PBA's. I felt the balance was off. I thought that if I worked hard, people would notice, but now it seems they are noticing more, so I am grateful." She continued, "I feel there is still plenty of room for growth in the prize money scale. I think the increase in prize money is one factor behind the continuous emergence of promising young female three-cushion players. If a billiard player earns only 0.1 billion won a year, who would do it? I feel we are moving in a desirable direction. I am working hard, but the growth of female players recently is remarkable. Everyone is doing their role excellently, so I am grateful, and we will work harder together."

Meanwhile, on the final day of the tournament, the 24th, the men's PBA semifinals and finals will be held. At 11 a.m., the first semifinal match between Jo Jo-hwi (Welcome Savings Bank) and Nguyen Phuong Linh (Vietnam, Harim) will take place, followed by the second semifinal match at 2 p.m. between Jo Jae-ho (NH Hana Card) and David Saphata (Spain, Woori Financial Capital). The winners of the semifinals will face each other in the final at 8 p.m. in a best-of-seven series for the 100th million won championship prize.

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*This content was translated by AI.