SEOUL – Eddy Leppens, the Belgian billiard star in PBA, had to wait four years for his second PBA victory. In a final against the top Korean, Jae-ho Cho, Leppens triumphed 4-3 on Monday, Thanksgiving Day, jumping for his second time at the match table. Eddy Leppens is the only Belgian in the PBA circuit. He was also the only European in the finals, which included four Koreans. Leppens had a fantastic run-up to the final. He defeated Min-gu Kang 4-2 in the semifinals, while Jae-ho Cho defeated Jong-won Kim 4-3 in that round. The quarter finals were a thrilling encounter for Leppens against Seo, which he won 3-2. In that round, Jae-ho Cho defeated Im-gwong Kim 3-1.
Spaniard David Martinez, a multi winner in the PBA, was eliminated in the top 16 by Eddy Leppens 3-2. Two other Europeans also disappeared in that round. Murat Naci Coklu lost to Choong Bok Lee 3-1, and Juan David Zapata lost to Jong Kim 3-1.
In the top 32, Martinez defeated Morales 3-0, and Leppens defeated Jun-tae Kim 3-0. Semih Sayginer was eliminated in the top 64 round by Jun-tae Kim, and Dany Sánchez was eliminated in the first round by Dong-gyu Lee in the top 128 round.
The final was a back-and-forth match between the top two players from this Crown Haitai tournament. Jae-ho Cho dominated the first two sets, winning 15-9 and 15-4. Then, Leppens started his comeback: he won 15-9 and 15-10 to take a 15-11 lead in the next set. The diminutive Korean rallied once more, winning the sixth set 15-8 and forcing a deciding set to 11 caroms. Cho was the better starter, but Leppens ultimately won strongly and cool, 11-6. Averages: 1,641 for Leppens, 1,707 for Cho.
Eddy Leppens received the trophy and 100 million Korean won. The Belgian has now earned a total of 280,000 euros in the PBA during his Korean adventure.
The next PBA tournament starts on October 20.
Ga-young Kim once again proved to be the best in the women's tournament. In the final, where she didn't show her best form, Ga-young Kim won 4-3. It was her third victory this season, her 17th in total, earning her over half a million euros, or €560,000. Ga-young Kim was also rewarded for her best match of the tournament: a 2.045 average. Ga-young Kim defeated Mi-rae Lee 3-0 in the semifinal, while Kyoung-jim Lim defeated Se-yeon Kim, the former LPBA world champion, 3-1. In the top 16, Ga-young Kim won 3-0 against Orie Hida, the former UMB world champion.
Eddy Leppens, winner for the second time in PBA
Eddy Leppens and Jae-ho Cho
Ga-young Kim, the multi-winner, over a half million euros in her PbA career