I won the trophy with a bank shot, Sakai wins LPBA for the first time in 4 years,“I think of my husband and two children”
Ayako Sakai (Hana Card), a "Japanese women's three-cushion powerhouse," became the 13th LPBA champion in four years since her professional debut.
Sakai won the set score of 4-2 (8-11, 11-10, 4-11, 11-0, 11-0, 11-0, 11-8, 11-6) against Kim Min-ah (NH Nonghyup Card) in the final of the "SW LPBA Championship" held at Goyang Kintex PBA Stadium in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, on the 4th.
As a result, Sakai became the 13th "Queen" of LPBA after reaching the top in about four years since his professional billiards debut in Game 5 (Medi Hill Championship) in 2019. Participation in the tour is the only victory in 22 tours. In addition, he was named the third Japanese LPBA winner after Orie Hida (SK Rent-a-Car) and Natsumi Higashiuchi (Welcome Savings Bank).
On the other hand, Kim Min-ah, who won her second championship of the season and three times in her career in three months since winning the opening game of this season (Gyeongju Blue One Resort Championship), suffered a setback on the threshold of winning.
The "Well-Bang Top Ranking" (2 million won in prize money) given to the player who recorded the highest average in a single game of the tournament was won by Sron Piavi (Cambodia Blue One Resort), who recorded 2.273 against Park Soo-hyang in the round of 64.
In the final, Sakai and Kim Min-ah faced each other tightly from the beginning of the game. If Kim Min-ah led the set first, Sakai quickly followed the set and balanced the game.
Kim Min-ah took the lead in the first set. Kim Min-ah, who led 8-1 in the first four innings, later stayed on empty hits for five innings and allowed Sakai to chase, tying 8-8, but won 11-8, filling the remaining three points, including a lucky bank shot, in the 10th inning.
Kim Min-ah's early atmosphere was good in the second set as well. Thanks to seven high-run runs in the first inning, he led 10-8 until nine innings, but after Sakai tried two points in the 10th inning, the turn led to a lucky score, balancing 11-10 and set score 1-1. 스포츠중계
Kim Min-ah scored 11 innings in the third set and won 11-4 to take the lead again. However, Sakai fought back again in the fourth set. Sakai widened the gap to 8-0 with six high-run points, including two bank shots, in the second inning, followed by an 11-0 victory with one point in the fourth inning and two points in the fifth inning, and returned the game to square one.
Sakai, who succeeded in chasing, began to lead the game by winning the fifth set 11-8. Sakai scored three to two points in three consecutive innings, starting with a 3-1 turnaround with two points in the seventh inning when he was losing 1-2, and filled 11 points at once. Kim Min-ah also followed with six points in three innings from eight innings, but Sakai turned the mood around with a one-bank shot that broke out in an 8-8 tie in 10 innings and filled the remaining one to win 11-8 and lead the set score 3-2.
After a long game of 17 innings in the sixth set, Sakai eventually raised the cue and roared. After scoring one point in 16 innings, he finished the game 11-6 with a bank shot and a set score of 4-2 and confirmed the victory.
In the final, Sakai connected the bank shot with a breakthrough in every crisis, paving the way for the championship with nine bank shots, four more than her opponent Kim Min-ah. The bank shot rate (the ratio of bank shots out of total scores) is 32.1%. It was higher than the competition average (28.5%). In addition, in this tournament alone, he succeeded in 48 bank shots in six games, emerging as the new "Queen of Bank Shots."
Sakai also won the tournament with a "sticky tenacity" to not give up. After finishing the first match against Han Ji-eun (SW) 23-23, Lim Jung-sook (Crown Haitai Round of 16), Kim Bo-mi (NH Nonghyup Card Round of 8), Park Da-som (Round of 4), and the final all gave up the first set and turned the game upside down.
Sakai said, "I'm so happy to win. First, I really wanted to win the final. I joined the Hana Card team this season, and my teammates cheered me on a lot. "I think I was able to win because I came to the stadium and cheered for me today," he said adding, "I remembered my family (after winning the championship)." "My husband and two children were the first to come to mind," he said.
Sakai said of the final bank shot, "I was confident. "There was a risk, but I was confident," he said.
Meanwhile, the PBA will enter the men's PBA 128 round from the 5th. After playing the round of 128 for two days from the 5th, the tournament will begin in earnest with the opening ceremony at 3 p.m. on the 7th. The final match to determine the winner of the prize money of 100 million won will be held at 9 p.m. on the 11th.