From "Beautiful Billiards Star" to "Next-Generation Queen": Jeong Soobin Claims First LPBA Title in 1,497 Days... Defeats Lee Mi-rae 4-2 [Goyang On-Site Review]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

She can now be called not just a "beautiful star," but also a "next-generation queen." Jeong Soobin (27, NH Nonghyup Card) announced the beginning of a new era in women's billiards with a dazzling performance.

Jeong Soobin defeated Lee Mi-rae (30, High1 Resort) 4-2 in sets (11-1, 11-10, 10-11, 11-7, 8-11, 11-5) to claim the championship in the LPBA final of the "Crown Hite PBA-LPBA Championship," the fourth tour of the Pro Billiards 2026-27 season, held on the 11th at the "Goyang KINTEX PBA Stadium" in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province.

Jeong Soobin, who entered the pro billiards stage in the 2022-2023 season, claimed her first title in her 37th tournament after four years, one month, and six days—1,497 days. Simultaneously, Jeong Soobin became the 18th champion in LPBA history.

Jeong Soobin, who won the 40th million won championship prize money, jumped from 28th to 15th place with a career total of 75.5 million won.

Jeong Soobin, who had been living an ordinary university life as a statistics major, became captivated by billiards after encountering it by chance and entered the path of a professional player later than elite athletes. Jeong Soobin, who showed rapid growth, reached the round of 16 in her debut season in 2022 and advanced to the semifinals in the 2024-2025 season, instantly rising to prominence as a promising young star.

In the ninth tournament of the 2025-2026 season, she caused an upset by reaching the final for the first time, and consistently performed in the PBA Team League while growing her skills. Although she failed to reach the round of 16 in all three tournaments this season, she proved that she is drawing a steady upward curve with an average of 1.029.

She seized the opportunity at this tournament. After defeating Kim Yong-won (21-8) in the round of 128 and Jo Ye-eun (22-19) in the round of 64, Jeong Soobin beat Oh Su-jung 3-1 in the round of 32 and Lee Hwa-yeon 3-2 in the round of 16.

In the quarterfinals, she completely defeated last tournament's winner Park Jung-hyun (Haram) 3-0. In the semifinals, she secured a victory over another young star Han Ji-eun (S&Y) after a full-set close battle to advance to the final.

Jeong Soobin, who had vowed "I will win next time" after suffering a defeat in a full-set close battle in her first final last February, kept that promise.

She showed a terrifying momentum from the first set. In the first set, Lee Mi-rae made the break shot but could not maintain the flow. Jeong Soobin scored two points in the second inning and then scored eight points, including four points with bank shots in the third inning, to reach set point, and added one more point in the fourth inning to take the first set.

In a tense situation in the second set, Jeong Soobin scored four points in the ninth inning to successfully reverse the score 9-8. Lee Mi-rae immediately added two points to retake the lead, but Jeong Soobin tied the score again. Lee Mi-rae unfortunately missed a prime scoring opportunity, and Jeong Soobin did not wait any longer. With a clean final score, she took the second set as well.

She displayed an unstoppable momentum in the third set as well. After scoring three points in the first inning but falling behind 3-5, Jeong Soobin scored a whopping seven points in the second inning to instantly reach set point once again.

Lee Mi-rae, a five-time winner, did not collapse either. While Jeong Soobin failed to add a point for three consecutive innings, Lee Mi-rae scored two points in the fourth inning and one point in the fifth inning, then finished with the remaining three points in the sixth inning to counterattack and narrow the set score to 1-2.

A back-and-forth battle unfolded in the fourth set as well. Jeong Soobin, who had the first shot, took an early lead with one point, but Lee Mi-rae immediately tied it at 1-1. When Jeong Soobin added three points in the third inning, Lee Mi-rae followed up with two points. As Jeong Soobin pulled away with four points using two bank shots in the fourth inning, Lee Mi-rae added four points over three innings to close the gap to 5-8. While Jeong Soobin rested in the fourth inning, Lee Mi-rae added two points in the eighth inning to chase within one point. However, Jeong Soobin did not repeat the mistake of the third set. She refocused her concentration in the ninth inning and took the remaining three points to make the set score 3-1.

In the fifth set, Lee Mi-rae launched a counterattack. After scoring six points in the first three innings, Lee Mi-rae added two points in the seventh inning and two more points in the seventh inning as Jeong Soobin chased. When Jeong Soobin responded with four points, Lee Mi-rae added one point in the eighth inning to finish the set.

Jeong Soobin reached the championship point in the eighth inning of the sixth set. After several shots that drew sighs, Jeong Soobin attempted a side spin shot and clenched her fist and roared as if she had already secured the victory before the score was even made. Ultimately, the title became Jeong Soobin's.

Meanwhile, Lee Mi-rae, who entered the final for the first time in 335 days since last November to aim for her sixth win of the season, will have to wait for another chance at victory.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original