'Runner-up → Round of 16 → Round of 32 → Round of 64': Unsteady Cho Jae-ho advances to Round of 128 after deciding frame... [PBA Tour]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

The unsteady 'Superman' Cho Jae-ho (46, NH Nonghyup Card) headed toward the Round of 64 after a tense, sweat-inducing battle.

On the 21st, at the 'Goyang KINTEX PBA Stadium' in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, during Day 2 of the PBA Round of 128 for the fifth tour of the Pro Billiards 2026-2027 season, the 'How to Live Well Now zgm NH Nonghyup Card PBA-LPBA Championship,' Cho Jae-ho defeated Kim Tae-ho in a deciding frame to advance to the Round of 64.

In the first set, Cho Jae-ho won 15-12 after a long battle lasting until the 17th inning. However, he subsequently lost the second set 11-15 (9 innings) and the third set 10-15 (10 innings), instantly finding himself on the brink of elimination. In the following fourth set, Kim Tae-ho scored 12 points in just two innings, making a 0-12 defeat look likely.

Focus returned at the edge of the cliff. Starting from the third inning, he produced consecutive scores of 4-3-3 to close the gap to 10-12 in an instant, and then scored in two consecutive innings to tie the game at 12-12. Kim Tae-ho, who had failed to score for five consecutive innings, managed one point in the eighth inning, but Cho Jae-ho cleared the remaining three points in the ninth inning to win 15-13, sending the match to a deciding frame.

Riding his momentum, Cho Jae-ho scored 9 points as the first shooter in the deciding frame, surpassing Kim Tae-ho who managed only 2 points, to secure a ticket to the Round of 64.

In the Round of 64, he will face off against Kim Nam-su. They will compete for a spot in the Round of 32 at 10:00 p.m. on the 22nd.

The 'Vietnamese storm' that has recently hit PBA continued in this tournament's Round of 128 as well. Q. Nguyen, who defeated David Martinez (Spain, Crown Hite) in the fourth tour to achieve the first two wins by a Vietnamese player, beat Lee Yong-jae with a set score of 3-1 to reach the Round of 64. Nguyen Chan Thanh Tao (Vietnam), the winner of the third tour (S&Y Championship), defeated Kim Jung-ho 3-0, leveraging a perfect cue in the third set (scoring all points in one inning).

'The Gambler' Choi Sung-won (Huons) beat Cho Byung-chan 3-1, and 'The Three-Cushion Bible' Lee Chung-bok (High1 Resort) defeated Choi Kyung-jun 3-0 to advance to the Round of 64. Kim Jun-tae (Harim), Kim Jae-geun (Crown Hite), Kang Min-gu (Woori Financial Capital), and Cho Dong-hwi (Welcome Savings Bank) also joined the Round of 64 lineup.

In the LPBA Round of 32 held concurrently on the same day, Lee Mi-rae (High1 Resort) defeated Kim Jin-a (Hana Card) in a deciding frame to advance to the Round of 16. After Kim Jin-a took the first set and Lee Mi-rae took the next in a back-and-forth exchange, a deciding frame was played, where Lee Mi-rae scored a high run of 7 points to overcome Kim Jin-a.

Park Jung-hyun (Harim) defeated her same-age friend Yong Hyun-ji (Welcome Savings Bank) with a set score of 3-0, and Im Jung-sook (Crown Hite) also won 3-1 against her close friend Kim Sang-a (Harim) to reach the Round of 16. Kim Bo-mi (NH Nonghyup Card), Seo Han-sol (Huons), and others also secured their spots in the Round of 16.

On the 22nd, the fifth day of the tournament, the PBA Round of 64 and LPBA Round of 16 will be held. The PBA Round of 64 will take place from 1:00 p.m., divided into five turns, while the LPBA Round of 16 will be held at 3:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original