SEOUL - Young Korean Mi-rae Lee has won the third tournament in the PBA season. She defeated her compatriot Ga-young Kim in the final in three sets: 3-0. The final day was a Korean affair, the non-Koreans were eliminated in the first round with 93 players.
Mi-Rae, one of the big Korean talents in women's billiards, started in the final 11-7 in 16 and then switched to a higher level: 11-1 in 8 and 11-8 in 11. The number two Ga-young Kim couldn't make it to her level of the previous rounds in that final and finished only 0,485 on average. Mi-rae Lee finished 0,971.
In the semi-finals, Mi-rae Lee won in two sets against Min-joo Baek 11-5 in 8, 7-11 in 15 and 9-0 in 3. Ga-young Kim reached the final by a win over the queen of LPBA, Jung-suk Lim (three wins in 10 tournaments), 11-2 in 18, 6-11 in 7 and 9-7 in 7.
Mi-rae Lee finished with an overall average 1,128 (comparable to 0,957 according to UMB count). In the 93 players field, only four players were not Korean. The two Japanese Hayashi and Higashiuchi and the Europeans Najjari and Hofman were eliminated in the first round and finished in joint 80th place in the final ranking.
The men's final will be played today, Monday January 4, with two Korean finalists. Turk Birol Uymaz, the only non-Korean in the final phase, was eliminated in the semi-finals
The final ranking and the prize money in the ladies:
1 Mi-rae Lee: 15,180 euros
2 Ga-young Kim: 4,550 euros
3 and 4 Jung-suk Lim and Min-joo Baek: 1,500 euros.
The numbers 5 to 8: 750 euros.
The winner Mi-rae Lee
The other final player, Ga-young Kim