‘Japanese women’s 3-cushion powerhouse’ Ayako Sakai (Hana Card) became the 13th LPBA champion four years after her professional debut.

In the final of the ‘SY LPBA Championship’ held at ‘Goyang KINTEX PBA Stadium’ in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do on the 4th, the set score was 4-2 (8-11, 11-10, 4-11, 11-0, 11) against Minah Kim (NH Nonghyup Card) He won with a score of -8, 11-6) and received 30 million won in prize money and his first trophy as a professional.

As a result, Sakai reached the top in about 4 years since her debut in professional billiards in the 5th round (Mediheal Championship) in 2019 and became the 13th ‘Queen’ of LPBA. This is a win among only 22 tour participants. In addition, he was named the third LPBA winner of Japanese nationality, following Orie Hida (SK Rent-a-Car) and Natsumi Higashiuchi (Welcome Savings Bank).

On the other hand, Minah Kim, who attempted to win for the second time in three months and the third time in total after coming out on top in the opening match of this season (Gyeongju Blue One Resort Championship), unfortunately failed on the verge of victory.

The ‘Well Bang Top Ranking’ (prize prize of 2 million won), which is given to the player who recorded the highest average in one game of the tournament, was awarded to Throng Piavi (Cambodia, Blue One Resort), who scored 2.273 against Park Soo-hyang in the round of 64.

In the final, Sakai and Minah Kim faced off tightly from the beginning of the game. When Minah Kim took a set lead, Sakai quickly followed up with a set to balance the game.

In the first set, Minah Kim took the lead. Minah Kim, who took a huge lead of 8-1 in the first 4 innings, remained on the ball for the next 5 innings and allowed Sakai to catch up, tying the score at 8-8, but in the 10th inning, she filled up the remaining 3 runs, including a lucky bank shot, to make it 11-1. Won by 8.

Kim Mina was in a good mood at the beginning of the second set. Thanks to 7 high runs in the first inning, the lead was 10-8 through the 9th inning, but in the 10th inning, Sakai’s attempted comeback after scoring 2 points resulted in a lucky score, bringing the set score to 11-10, 1-1. I achieved it.

Minah Kim accumulated points over 11 innings in the third set and took the lead again, winning 11-4. However, Sakai fought back once again in the fourth set. Sakai widened the gap to 8-0 with 6 high runs, including two bank shots, in the 2nd inning, then scored 1 run in the 4th inning and 2 runs in the 5th inning to secure an 11-0 victory, and the set score was 2-2 again. returned to the origin.

Sakai, who succeeded in catching up, started to take the lead in the game by winning the fifth set 11-8. Sakai started with a 3-1 comeback in the 7th inning when he was down 1-2, and scored 3-2-3 in a row over 3 innings, scoring 11 points in one go. Minah Kim also caught up with 6 points in 3 innings from the 8th inning, but Sakai turned the situation around with a walk-around one-bank shot with the score tied at 8-8 in the 10th inning, and made up the remaining run to win 11-8, with a set score of 3-2. went ahead with

After a long game of 6 sets and 17 innings, Sakai finally took the cue and roared. With a slight lead of 8-6 after 16 innings, after scoring one point, the game ended with a bank shot of 11-6 and the set score of 4-2, confirming the win.

In the finals, Sakai converted bank shots into breakthroughs in every crisis, paving the way to victory with 9 bank shots, 4 more than her opponent Minah Kim. The bank shot rate (percentage of bank shots out of total scores) was 32.1%. She scored above the competition average (28.5%). She also emerged as the new ‘Queen of Bank Shots’ by hitting 48 bank shots in 6 games in this tournament alone.

In addition, Sakai rose to the top in this competition with his ‘relentless persistence’ and not giving up. In the first game, Han Ji-eun (SY) finished with a score of 23-23, and after passing the first round after a tough match that even compared to the high run, Lim Jeong-sook (Crown Haitai, round of 16), Kim Bomi (NH Nonghyup Card, quarter-finals), Park Da-som (semi-finals) also set a record of coming from behind to win the game even after losing the first set all the way to the final.

Meanwhile, the PBA will begin the men’s PBA round of 128 starting on the 5th. After the round of 128 will be held for two days starting on the 5th, the competition will begin in earnest with the opening ceremony at 3 p.m. on the 7th. The final, which will determine the winner of the prize money of 100 million won, will be held at 9 PM on the 11th.

By: 안전놀이터