“Hey! Where else can you find a sister who listens so well?” A sharp remark from Jung Soobin leads to an immediate victory: Kim Bo-mi’s emotional championship win after seven years of waiting, with a record of “loss-loss-loss-win-win-win-win” [PBA Tour]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

“Hey! Where else can you find a sister who listens so well?”

Throughout this tournament, the name of team mate Jung Soobin (26, NH Nonghyup Card) was mentioned every time Kim Bo-mi (27) performed well. After winning the previous tournament, Jung delivered a sharp remark to Kim, saying, "Sister, do your best," and it seems this had an effect, as Kim immediately went on to win the championship. Following her victory, Kim also sent an affectionate message to Jung.

Kim Bo-mi secured a dramatic comeback victory in the LPBA final of the "How to Live Well Now zgm NH Agricultural Cooperative Card PBA-LPBA Championship," the fifth tour of the 2026-2027 Pro Billiards season, defeating Im Jeong-suk (Crown Hite) 4-3 in sets (4-11, 10-11, 4-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-2, 9-5) on the 25th at the Goyang KINTEX PBA Stadium in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province.

Kim Bo-mi, who debuted on the professional billiards tour at its launch in the 2019-2020 season, tasted her first emotional victory after seven years and four months (her 63rd tournament). Having reached the final three times previously but each time falling short, Kim became the 19th "Queen" of professional billiards on her fourth attempt. With a prize money of 40 million won and an additional 20,000 ranking points, Kim surged from 24th in the previous season's rankings to third place (23,800 points).

In the early stages of the final match, Im Jeong-sook took the initiative. Starting as the second player, she closed out the first set in just four innings. In the second set, trailing 2-10, she scored six runs in a five-inning rally and then added the remaining three points in the seventh inning to secure a comeback victory. The momentum shifted entirely to Im Jeong-sook, who also took the third set.

Everyone could only expect Kim Bo-mi's defeat. It seemed realistic to hope that the match would not end in a humiliating 0-4 loss.

However, Kim Bo-mi raised her level of concentration. After scoring six points in the first inning, Kim allowed a comeback to trail 6-8, but she quickly tied the game and then recovered one set in the sixth inning. In the fifth set as well, she won 11-8 after a tight battle that reached eight innings.

The sixth set was also Kim Bo-mi's domain. After scoring nine runs in the first inning, Kim filled in the remaining two points with a bank shot in the fifth inning, sending the match to a decisive seventh set.

Kim Bo-mi, who again swept up four runs from the first inning through the fourth, held off Im Jeong-suk's pursuit by adding one run per inning after taking a 4-2 lead in the fourth, ultimately closing out the game at 9-5 in the seventh inning. She lifted the cue and was overcome with emotion.

Kim Bo-mi, who took the microphone immediately after her victory, expressed gratitude to sponsors and teammates before seeking out Jung Soobin. Jung, who had been living as an ordinary college student, encountered pool by chance, grew rapidly, made his professional debut, and even won the previous tournament. That was why he had said to Kim, “Sister, do well this time.” He then offered a hopeful prediction that “Sister Bo-mi will win the next tournament,” and that prediction came true immediately.

When someone called out, "Jung Soobin, hey," the audience burst into laughter. Just before the awards ceremony, a clip of Jung Soobin's interview after winning the previous competition was shown, reminding the crowd of the special story shared by the two. Kim Bo-mi added, "Where else can you find an older sister who listens so well?" This implied that she had immediately fulfilled Jung Soobin's winning mantra. Jung Soobin, who had been moved to tears in the audience, celebrating as if it were her own victory, also smiled. Kim Bo-mi expressed her gratitude, saying, "Although I am younger than her, there is so much I can learn from her. She is very mature and lovely."

Kim Bo-mi shared her thoughts immediately after winning the championship, saying, "In the past, I thought that being a billiards player meant I couldn't enjoy the game. There were times when I really disliked it. Practice was truly difficult, and I often thought about quitting. But this victory feels like a reward for all the training and effort I have put in up to now. I am truly happy."

Kim Bo-mi also spoke about the remarks made by Jeong Soobin at the previous tournament during the winner's press conference, stating, "It was a stimulus I had not felt before." She added, "The fact that players younger and less experienced than me won the third tour (the S&Y Championship) with Park Jung-hyun (Harim) and the fourth tour (the Crown Hite Championship) with Jeong Soobin served as a strong motivator for me. I also watched many of their games closely," revealing that these experiences had been an exceptional source of motivation.

Kim Bo-mi, who expressed her victory feelings by saying, "It's so overwhelming and feels like a dream. I feel incredibly relieved," shared the secret behind her comeback win: "Losing 0-4 was a blow to my pride, so I just wanted to win at least one set. I thought that if I could take one set, I would be able to play my own billiards. I managed my mindset as best as I could and played through the match."

As her career demonstrates, she had numerous opportunities to win. Yet at each critical juncture, she stumbled, and her teammates expressed regret as if it were their own failure. Looking back on the past, Bomi said, "In retrospect, I feel that my skills were ultimately insufficient. Even players with strong mental fortitude experience varying degrees of nervousness in the final decisive moments." She added, "One must overcome that to achieve victory. While mental strength is important, it must be built upon a foundation of fundamental skill. My past self was greatly lacking."

It is expected to become a major turning point that will change Kim Bo-mi's career. Kim said, "Of course, it seems like it will be a big turning point. I think I will be able to love billiards even more. In the past, I thought that if you became a billiards player, you couldn't enjoy playing. There were times when I really disliked billiards. It was truly difficult during practice, and I often thought about quitting." She added, "However, there are many players around me who still enjoy playing billiards. I realized that 'I had been thinking about it the wrong way.' I decided to play while enjoying it, just like the people around me. This victory feels like a reward for all the training and efforts I have put in so far, so I think I will be able to keep working hard going forward."

All of Kim Bo-mi's teammates who had been cheering for her were moved to tears, and even Im Jeong-suk, who suffered a narrow defeat, could not hide her pleased expression. "I am happy to have reached the runner-up spot, but I also feel truly disappointed," Im said. "It feels as if we let slip a victory that was within arm's reach." However, she added, "But since my opponent was player Kim Bo-mi, I think I will be able to shake off the disappointment quickly."

She continued, "I played alongside Kim Bo-mi at SK Rent-a-Car during the first season of the Team League in 2020-2021. It was truly a difficult time for me." She added, "I didn't know much about the ball back then, and I even received criticism from my teammates. As a result, Kim Bo-mi and I leaned on each other, and she became a source of strength for me. More than anyone else, I wanted to see Kim Bo-mi win the championship. I truly want to convey my congratulations."

It was impossible not to mention her father, Kim Byung-ho (53, Hana Card). In his remarks immediately after the victory, he placed his father, Kim Byung-ho, at the very end of his acknowledgments. The two, a daughter and her father who made history as the first "father-daughter champions," shed hot tears together. They also recalled the difficult time when they had come up from Daegu and struggled to adapt to life in Seoul.

Kim Bo-mi said, "I focused solely on billiards and gave up a lot in Daegu to come to Seoul, but it was truly difficult. The memories of that time came flooding back, and I felt overwhelmed with emotion."

She continued, "My father must have found it very difficult as well. He tried to force me to play billiards even though I didn't like it, so it must have been really hard for him. It seems I wasn't able to live up to his expectations. He probably also thought that if I worked harder and put in more effort, I could win a championship sooner." She added, "In the past, my father sometimes spoke to me very harshly, but lately, I feel that he respects me. He still nags at me, but I can feel that he trusts me. He also tells me to 'just do what you've been doing.' My father holds back his harsh words and speaks carefully. I am grateful."

Their relationship also became strained while playing billiards. They argued, and at times even went years without speaking to each other. Nevertheless, they could not give up. Kim Bo-mi explained, "I disliked practicing and training, but I still found matches enjoyable." She added, "When I first started my career as an amateur, there were few female players, so my results were not bad. As a result, I continued to play billiards consistently."

In the end, he tasted his greatest moment thanks to billiards, a sport he began because of his father. "I used to hold a lot of resentment toward my father, but now I am truly grateful," he said. "Recently, my father called me first and carefully told me that he would like to personally give me lessons at least once a week." He added, "He promised not to get angry. In the past, he often got angry and taught me very strictly. When my father said that, I trusted him and started taking lessons from him again. There have been times when he was still a little irritable," he said with a smile.

The "Welcome Top Ranking" prize of 20 thousand won, awarded to the player who recorded the highest average in a single tournament match, went to Han Seul-ki (Hana Card), who posted an average of 2.273 in the Round of 64.

On the final day of the tournament, the 26th, the PBA semifinals and final will be held. The first semifinal match between Lee Sang-dae (Woori Financial Capital) and David Martinez (Spain, Welcome Savings Bank) is scheduled for 12:30 p.m., followed by the second semifinal match between Cho Jeon-hwi (Welcome Savings Bank) and Antonio Montes (Spain, Breakers) at 3:30 p.m. The winners of the semifinals will face off in the final at 9:00 p.m. for a championship prize of 100 million won.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original