Korean Players Dominate PBA World Championship: Semi-Finals Set for Historic Showdown

Daniel Kim 2026.03.14 Views

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Kim Young-won / Photo: PBA

[Sports Today reporter Shin Seo-young] All four semifinal spots in the PBA (men’s) World Championship — the event that crowns the professional billiards king — are occupied by South Korean players.

Kim Young-won of Harim swept Ngo Dinh Nai (Vietnam · SK Rent-a-Car) 3-0 (15-13, 15-5, 15-14) in the quarterfinals of the World Championship at Hallasan Gymnasium in Jeju City on the 13th.

Kim controlled the match against the Vietnamese contender. He took a tight first set 15-13 (7 innings), then capitalized while Ngo struggled in the second, comfortably closing it 15-5 (11 innings) to go up 2-0. In a back-and-forth third set, Kim edged out a 15-14 (4 innings) victory to complete the 3-0 sweep.

Kim Jae-geun (Crown Haitai) knocked off season leader Daniel Sanchez (Spain · Welcome Savings Bank) 3-1. Kim raced through the opening sets 15-7 (4 innings) and 15-4 (3 innings) to build a 2-0 lead; his average over those two sets was an eye-popping 4.286. Sanchez grabbed the third 15-12 (7 innings), but Kim’s power returned in the fourth, where he closed the match with a 15-5 (6 innings) win to secure his semifinal berth.

Jo Geon-hwi (SK Rent-a-Car), who squeezed into the World Championship as the No. 32 prize-money qualifier, upset Spain’s top player David Martinez (Crown Haitai) 3-1. Kim Im-kwon dispatched David Zapata (Spain · Woori Financial Capital) 3-0 to advance to the semifinals as well.

With those results, the PBA World Championship men’s semifinals will feature only Korean players — the first time since the tournament began in the 2020-21 season that no foreign player reached the final four. Notably, 11 of the round-of-16 competitors were foreign, but the Korean contingent rose to the occasion and will now battle for the title.

In LPBA quarterfinal action the same day, Hana Card’s Kim Ga-young beat Cha Yu-ram (Huons) 3-0 to reach the semifinals. Kim took a tight first set 11-9 (8 innings), then staved off Cha’s comeback in the second with a seven-point high run to win 11-9 (11 innings) and go up 2-0. She closed out the match with an 11-2 (9 innings) third set, improving her LPBA head-to-head record against Cha to 7-0.

Kim Ga-young will face Kim Se-yeon (Huons) in the semifinals. Kim Se-yeon survived a tough quarterfinal battle, edging Im Jeong-suk (Crown Haitai) 3-2 to advance. On the other side of the draw, Han Ji-eun (S&Y) and Lee Woo-kyung (S&Y) will meet in the semifinal after each swept their quarterfinal opponents — Han Seul-gi and Choi Hye-mi (Welcome Savings Bank), respectively — 3-0.

On the tournament’s ninth day, March 14, the PBA-LPBA semifinals continue. The LPBA semifinal between Han Ji-eun and Lee Woo-kyung kicks off at 1:00 p.m., followed by the PBA first semifinal between Jo Geon-hwi and Kim Im-kwon at 4:00 p.m. At 7:00 p.m., Kim Ga-young and Kim Se-yeon play the LPBA second semifinal, and at 10:00 p.m. Kim Young-won and Kim Jae-geun meet in the PBA second semifinal.