17-year-old ‘billiard genius’ Kim Young-won becomes the youngest PBA winner… Prize money: 100 million
The parents, who were nervous as they watched their son, smiled brightly when his victory was confirmed. The proud expression of the ‘genius’ who focused on billiards after dropping out of high school was full of pride. The joy of becoming the youngest winner at 17 years old was an added bonus.
‘Billiard genius’ Kim Young-won (17) defeated Oh Tae-jun (Crown Haitai) with a set score of 4-1 (15:13, 15:5) in the men’s final of the 2024-2025 NH Nonghyup Card PBA-LPBA Championship held at the KINTEX PBA Stadium in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do on the 11th. , 7:15, 15:12, 15:8) and rose to the top. The winning prize is 100 million won.
Kim Young-won, who took second place in the season opener, hit the jackpot in his 6th tour. He reached the top at 17 years and 23 days, breaking the previous record of youngest winner (20 years, 11 months and 13 days) set by Kim Ye-eun (Welcome Savings Bank) in the 2020-2021 season.
Teenage Kim Young-won’s domination of the professional stage symbolizes the arrogant wave of ‘young blood’ that will flood the billiards table.
Kim Young-won, who entered the professional stage at the age of 15 through the Challenge Tour (Part 3) of the 2022-2023 season, finished second twice in the Dream Tour (Part 2) last season and gained experience in the Part 1 tour through a wild card.
This year, he dropped out of school and focused solely on billiards. He advanced to the finals of the Woori Financial Capital Championship, the season opener, and finally won the long-awaited trophy in this tournament, the 6th tour. This is remarkable growth in his third year as a professional.
Kim Young-won continued his momentum in the finals that followed soon after, perhaps because he defeated his nemesis David Martinez (Crown Haitai) in the semifinals that day. He was not discouraged when he met his seasoned senior Oh Tae-jun, and went on to win the first or second set.
In the 3rd set, he took a short break due to Oh Tae-jun’s counterattack, but in the 4th and 5th sets, he led the game according to his own style and won a complete victory with a long hit at a crucial moment.
At a press conference held after the game, Kim Young-won said, “I’m shocked because it’s my first win. It was a really great experience to come in second place in the opening finals. “I will work hard with the goal of winning my second and third championship.”
The parents who watched Kim Young-won’s game on site enjoyed the joy of hugging their proud son. Kim Young-won, who took the cue with his father who loved billiards when he was in the 6th grade of elementary school, said, “I went up to 25 points in just one year. “My father told me that I could try becoming a player, so I had a dream.”
This year, instead of going to school, it became my daily routine to go to the billiard room early in the morning and return home in the evening. But his skills are growing rapidly. Regarding his gap in school life, he said, “I don’t feel lonely because I hang out with my uncles at the billiards hall. “I meet my elementary school friends occasionally and go on trips,” he said. Also, “I study English a little bit at home. “If I can communicate with foreign players in English, I think it will help me study billiards,” he added.
The 100 million won received as prize money is a lot of money. Kim Young-won said about this, “I never thought about how to use it. “I talked with my father about opening a private practice studio,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Welcome Top Ranking (4 million won prize money) award given to the player with the highest average in one game went to Nguyen Quoc Nguyen (Hana Card), who achieved 4.091 in the round of 64.
Senior Reporter Kim Chang-geum kimck@hani.co.kr
