SEOUL – The Korean billiards stronghold has presented another world-class talent in the PBA. The 18-year-old Young-won Kim defeated Spaniard Dani Sánchez 4-3 in the final at the Huons tournament after trailing 3-1 in sets. That was good for the Korean prodigy the main prize of 100 million Korean won, equivalent to 70,000 euros. The success of the new superstar, seen in the three-cushion billiards world as a worthy successor to the now 27-year-old Myung Woo Cho, is not a big surprise. Young-won Kim also won a PBA tournament almost one year ago. Back then, on November 13, Kim first defeated David Martinez and then his compatriot Tae-jun Oh in the final.
Even then, Young-won Kim was by far the youngest winner in the PBA: 17 years and 24 days. The Korean is known as a player who practices for many, many hours every day and he has a great passion for his sport. Young-won Kim began his career in 2019, when he first saw billiards on TV for the PBA tour. A few days later, his father brought him to his club.
The final between Kim and Sánchez, the 51-year-old Spaniard who has won four world titles at the UMB, was close for a long time. Sánchez won the first set 15-13, Kim tied it with 15-8. The next phase saw Sánchez win two sets (15-6, 15-7). That brought the score to 3-1, leaving the Spaniard within one set of the title.
Young-won Kim, however, proved to be a player with huge character, chasing back 15-7 and 15-5 to tie the match at 3-3 and secure a deciding set. Dani Sánchez, who had experienced some weakness in the final sets, gave the impression in the closing stages that he was struggling with a painful left foot. Yet, in the seventh and final set, he took a 7-5 lead. The Korean first made it 7-6 and then finished the next set with a flawless run of six, the winning point being a sublime long-short-long shot.
The cheers in the stands enthusiastically accompanied the young billiards player's triumph. Young-won Kim also proved himself a gifted speaker during the ceremony. Before reaching for a note, he spoke for several minutes.
Young-won Kim reached the final by defeating Vietnamese Phuong Nguyen in the semifinals 4-2, while Dani Sánchez defeated the other Vietnamese, Ma, also 4-2. Young-won Kim's entire race began with wins over Jae-hyeong Jeon (3-0), Ho-soo Won (3-1), Won-jun Choi (3-1), Dinh Nai Ngo (3-0 with a 3.462 average), and in the quarterfinals, a 3-1 victory over Semih Sayginer.
The tournament was a resounding success for the Harim Dragons team, which features Young-won Kim, the women's finalist Sang-a Kim, and the men's semifinalist, Vietnamese Phuong-linh Nguyen.
Min-a Kim had won the women's tour a day earlier with a 4-0 victory over Sang-a Kim.
