"Honey, I'll earn the money, so just focus on playing billiards" — Cho Don-hui steadies his mindset, prize money surpasses 600 million won... Aims for Grand Prize as 'Only Player with Two Season Wins' [PBA Tour]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

Cho Don-hui (34, Welcome Savings Bank), currently ranked first in the season standings, lifted his second championship trophy of the season.

Cho defeated "Spanish powerhouse" David Martinez (Crown Hite) 4-3 (7-15, 15-14, 15-6, 4-15, 15-4, 7-15, 11-6) in a full-set thriller to claim the title in the PBA final of the "How to Live Well Now zgm NH Nonghyup Card PBA-LPBA Championship," the fifth tour of the 2026-2027 Pro Billiards season, held on the 26th at the "Goyang KINTEX PBA Stadium" in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province.

With this victory, Cho added his second championship trophy of the season just five months after defeating Jo Jae-ho (NH Nonghyup Card) to win the opening event, firmly maintaining his first-place position in the season rankings (216 million won, 242,000 points).

Having achieved his fourth career title, Cho rose to third place in the most championships category, standing shoulder to shoulder with Kang Dong-gung (Huwons) and Kim Young-won (Harim).

Additionally, Cho surpassed a cumulative prize money of 600 million won (611.5 million won), overtaking Kim Young-won (583.5 million won) to move up one spot from seventh to sixth place.

Cho and Martinez engaged in a tense battle from the start of the final. The match unfolded as a back-and-forth chase. After Martinez took a 15-7 lead in nine innings in the first set, Cho won the second set by a single point, 15-14 (nine innings). When Cho led 15-6 (13 innings) in the third set, Martinez fought back in the fourth set with an 11-point high run to level the score at 15-4 in just four innings. The set score was tied at 2-2.

The flow of the game remained similar in the second half. In the fifth set, Cho quickly took the lead with three points in the first inning and a seven-point high run in the second, reaching 15 points in ten innings to win the set 15-4. In response, Martinez countered with a six-point high run in the sixth inning of the sixth set, winning it 15-7 in eight innings to tie the set score at 3-3 again.

Ultimately, the match was decided in the seventh set. After a back-and-forth exchange, Cho held a narrow 8-6 lead through four innings. Both players failed to score in the fifth and sixth innings, returning with no points. Cho converted his attacking opportunity in the seventh inning into three points to win 11-6, concluding the match. Final set score: 4-3, Cho wins.

Immediately after winning, Cho said, "My recent results have been good, but there is no special secret. I try to do what I have always done. When my performance is not good, I don't force myself to practice excessively; instead, I consistently do the things I have always done without avoiding them. It seems that the parts I have consistently worked on for over five years are now paying off. Playing billiards has been so much fun lately."

His candid remarks also drew attention. When asked if prize money serves as motivation, he replied, "Yes. I always tell players competing in the PBA: 'If you play billiards well, they give you a lot of money, so there is no reason not to work hard.'"

He found the reason for his turnaround this season in mental stability. "I think I have improved mentally. Winning the opening event may have helped my mental state, but in billiards, stress makes things worse," Cho said. "I try to think, 'If it doesn't go well today, it will go well tomorrow.' Then my mind becomes at ease, and it seems the balls fall better."

Cho, who approached his wife with the trophy during the award ceremony to express his special gratitude, said, "When my results were not good previously, my wife told me, 'I will earn the money, so just relax and focus on playing billiards.'" He also shared, "In the Round of 128 of the eighth tour (Welcome Savings Bank Championship) of the 2023-2024 season, which was my first championship, I noticed a deposit notification ringing on my phone after the match ended. My wife sent a message saying it was a performance bonus from her company and told me to play billiards with peace of mind."

He is a senior player that juniors follow well. Cho explained, "I work harder than the juniors (laughing). I think I must set an example by working harder so that the juniors will see it and work hard. If I don't work hard, I won't have the qualification to teach or talk to them."

Having secured two wins this season and already ranking first in prize money, he has raised his goals. "When I won the opening event, I said, 'I hope to do it one more time,' and I still hope to win one more time. Since I am human, ambition arises. It would be good to win at the seventh or eighth tour," he did not hide his desire.

When asked why the seventh or eighth tour instead of the sixth, he joked, "I need to do it once more just as I am about to be forgotten," and then said, "It is a wish, but I want to maintain consistent results."

Meanwhile, Jeong Hae-chang received the "Welcome Top Ranking" (4 million won), awarded to the player with the highest average in a single match at the tournament, after posting an average of 2.647 against Ma Min-kum (Vietnam, NH Nonghyup Card) in the Round of 128.

The PBA, having concluded its fifth tour of the season, returns to the Team League. The fourth round of the "Welcome Savings Bank PBA Team League 2026-2027" will be held for nine days starting from the 31st at the "Goyang KINTEX PBA Stadium" in Goyang.

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.View Original