‘LPBA beauty star’ Jung Soobin to challenge for her first professional title today (the 11th)… Clashes with ‘five-time champion’ Lee Mi-rae in the final [PBA Tour]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

Jung Soobin (27, NH Nonghyup Card), a ‘next-generation star’ of the Ladies Professional Billiards Association (LPBA), is set to challenge for her first professional victory. Her opponent will be Lee Mi-rae (High1 Resort), who is aiming for her sixth title.

Jung Soobin advanced to the final by defeating Han Ji-eun (S&Y) 3-2 in sets (6-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-4, 9-0) in the LPBA semifinals of the ‘Crown Hite PBA-LPBA Championship,’ the fourth tour of the 2026-27 professional billiards season. The match was held on the 10th at the ‘Goyang KINTEX PBA Stadium’ in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province.

It was a dramatic comeback victory. Jung Soobin lost the first two sets but then won three consecutive sets to take the match. In particular, she had a high run of 8 points in the second set but still fell 9-11 (8 innings), putting her in a dire situation. After winning the third set 11-8 (13 innings) to claw back one set, Jung Soobin dominated the fourth set with an 11-4 (8 innings) win to level the match. She then secured a decisive victory by winning the fifth set 9-0 in just three innings.

Jung Soobin, who reached the final and finished as runner-up at the ninth tour (Welcome Savings Bank Championship) last season, has now made it to the final for the first time in 253 days (8 months and 10 days). With this being her second career appearance in a final, Jung Soobin will challenge for her first professional title.

Her opponent in the final is Lee Mi-rae. Lee swept Hida Ori (Japan, Breakers) 3-0 in sets in the semifinals. After taking the first set 11-9 (10 innings), Lee won the second set 11-4 (9 innings) and the third set 11-9 (5 innings) to complete a 3-0 set victory.

Lee Mi-rae, who defeated Hida, who had been in good form at this tournament, to reach the final, is aiming for her sixth career title. Lee achieved her fifth career victory at the seventh tour (High1 Resort Championship) last season after four years and eight months, and has now returned to the final stage just 11 months later. The LPBA final between Jung Soobin and Lee Mi-rae will be held at 9:30 p.m. on the 11th. The winner of the LPBA final will receive a prize of 40 million won, and the match will be played under a best-of-seven format (first to four wins).

In the PBA round of 16 held concurrently that day, team leader Kim Jun-tae defeated Kim Young-won 3-2 in sets in an ‘in-house Harim match’ to advance to the quarterfinals. Kim Jun-tae, who had a head-to-head record of 0 wins and 2 losses against Kim Young-won, secured his first victory over his rival by defeating him.

‘Spain’s strongest’ David Martinez (Crown Hite) defeated ‘the fighter’ Choi Sung-won (Huons) 3-1 in sets. With the set score tied at 1-1, Martinez took the third set 15-11 (8 innings) and the fourth set 15-9 (9 innings) to close out the match. Martinez will face David Saffata (Spain, Woori Financial Capital) in the quarterfinals. Saffata defeated Jung Kyung-seop 3-0 in sets.

Choi Jong-hwi (Welcome Savings Bank), the winner of the opening tour (Woori Financial Capital Championship), beat Lee Chung-bok (High1 Resort) 3-2 in sets, while ‘Vietnam powerhouse’ Nguyen Quoc Nguyen (Hana Card) also defeated Dao Van Li (Vietnam, NH Nonghyup Card) 3-2 in sets. Lee Seung-jin (Breakers), along with Noh Jong-hyun and Kim Gwan-woo, demonstrated the resilience to advance to the quarterfinals.

The PBA quarterfinals will begin at 11:30 a.m. on the 11th with the first match between Q. Nguyen and Kim Gwan-woo, followed by Saffata vs. Martinez at 2 p.m., Choi Jong-hwi vs. Lee Seung-jin at 4:30 p.m., and Noh Jong-hyun vs. Kim Jun-tae at 7 p.m.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original