"Please win for Kim Ka-young," a heartfelt plea from Srong Piyabi, who returned with a 10th championship and a prize money gift of 400 million won. [Jeongseon Field]

*This content was translated by AI.

Though she was hailed as the only rival capable of dethroning the queen of billiards, Srong Piyabi (36, Woori Financial Capital) also feared Kim Ka-young (43, Hana Card). However, the one best equipped to handle the overwhelming No. 1 was, as expected, herself.

On the 10th, Srong defeated Kim Ka-young (High1 Resort) in the LPBA final of the "People's Happy Resting Place High1 Resort PBA-LPBA Championship," the second tour of the 2026-2027 professional billiards season held at the Grand Hotel Convention Tower of High1 Resort in Jeongseon County, Gangwon Province, with a set score of 4-2 (11-5, 11-8, 6-11, 3-11, 11-8, 11-10), claiming the top spot.

With this victory, she has firmly etched her name anew in LPBA (women's division) history. Following Kim Ka-young's 19 wins, Srong became the second LPBA player to reach 10 wins, and with cumulative prize money of 423.42 million won, she became the second female player to surpass the 400th million won mark after Kim Ka-young.

Although she was one of the few players with a head-to-head record of 7 wins and 5 losses against Kim Ka-young, she had recently fallen behind with a record of 1 win and 4 losses. Moreover, Kim Ka-young had been showing overwhelming momentum, winning 14 consecutive matches in the final.

Although it seemed like an easy victory after taking the first two sets, the queen was not so easily defeated. After losing the third and fourth sets in a row, the match returned to square one.

In the fifth set, Srong was leading 8-2, but while she managed only three innings of empty hits, Kim Ka-young tied the score. However, Srong quickly added three more points to take the set. In the sixth set, she led 9-4, but Kim Ka-young mounted a fierce comeback. The score tied at 10-10. With Kim Ka-young just one point away from forcing a seventh set, it was Srong who ultimately smiled. Srong, who scored the final point, raised her cue high and roared.

The victory was also deeply desired by fans. At the post-match press conference, Srong said, "I am happy and grateful. It seems the fans are even happier." She added, "Many people sent me messages before the match asking me to definitely beat Kim Ka-young. It's not because I hate her," smiling.

Kim Ka-young, who rose to the position of "No. 1" based on overwhelming skill, faced concerns that her excessive dominance would diminish interest in the LPBA landscape. Since Srong was the most likely candidate to break that structure, she received particularly many messages of support.

When asked about the reason for her head-to-head deficit against Kim Ka-young, Kim Ka-young replied, "Srong's fanbase has powerful firepower (laughs)." It was a joke, but it was also true that the support for Srong was incredibly strong.

Although she has now reached the 10th-win milestone, Kim Ka-young has achieved nine more wins, and her prize money is more than double. This means that for Srong, Kim Ka-young was not merely an opponent with a superior head-to-head record. Srong said, "I heard a lot of comparisons with Kim Ka-young. When Kim Ka-young was at her peak winning titles, my performance was not good. So today, I tried to focus only on my own game. I played with the desire to show who I am. I tried not to be afraid."

Although she gained momentum by taking the first two sets, she felt pressure after losing the third and fourth sets consecutively, but the more she felt that pressure, the more she focused on controlling her mind. Srong said, "I felt the pressure. Especially, I felt a big difference in experience. It was truly scary and anxiety-inducing," but added, "I think I achieved this by trying not to give up until the end. Many players sit down and lose when facing Kim Ka-young. I managed to overcome it by gathering my mind as much as possible. Billiards is a mental battle. As I played according to my practice, the points started coming, and I think I made high runs."

Until just before securing the championship points, she could not guarantee the victory. Especially in the sixth set, Kim Ka-young mounted a fierce comeback, tying the score at 10-10. Kim Ka-young's skillful shot resulted in a kiss, and Srong did not miss the opportunity to finish the match.

He said, "I thought if I lost this set, I would have to give up the championship. I prayed that I would get one last chance at the end." He added, "Fortunately, the layout came out well. If the cue ball had been slightly tilted, a kiss could have occurred, but fortunately, the right position came out." He let out a sigh of relief.

Although the queen's status remains unshaken, Kim Ka-young still considers Srong her most threatening rival. Kim Ka-young said, "Srong is a player who plays billiards very well. We have been trading the top two seed positions for a long time. Just looking at that, she can be called the strongest opponent." She added, "Technically, I think Kim Min-ah is the best, but in terms of mental strength and competitive desire to win, Srong Piyabi seems to be the best. It is not strange that they are constantly trading blows." She gave a thumbs-up.

Surpassing 400 million won in cumulative prize money and achieving 10 championships are tremendous accomplishments, but Srong's perspective is slightly different. While saying, "I don't know where the 400th million won went (laughs)," she added, "Prize money is important, but a more important goal is winning. I want to leave my name, Piyabi, by winning."

Still, the first thing that comes to mind are her parents living in Cambodia. She only thinks of building a new house for her parents, who still live in a dilapidated home. "I felt very sorry to my parents in Cambodia. I feel sorry because I haven't finished building the house yet," she said. "I plan to visit Cambodia for 2-3 days on the 15th. Actually, I wanted to bring my parents to Korea, but the timing didn't work out. I want to take the trophy to them and eat a lot of delicious food."

Finally, she expressed gratitude to her husband, who has always provided unwavering support, and also offered a word of advice. "I am sorry that I couldn't take care of my family much because of billiards. He always asks, 'Did you practice well?' and takes care of me," she said. "We often fought because of billiards. There was also the burden of having to play well and show it. It has been 16 years since I came to Korea, and I had no spare time. While competing, I feel happiness day by day. No matter where I go, everyone recognizes me. Whether I win or lose, I hope we can live happily together. It was mentally very difficult. I hope we can live more happily."

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*This content was translated by AI.