SEOUL - The 7th PBA tournament in Seoul ended for the fourth time with a Korean winner. 46-year-old Byoung-ho Kim, number 70 in the PBA rankings, an outsider in the field, played an amazing tournament and won the final match against Spaniard David Martinez (4-3 in sets). The main prize, 75,000 euros, came into Korean hands. The victory was well deserved: Byoung-ho Kim defeated Kostas Papakonstantinou, Minh Cam Ma, Frédéric Caudron and finally David Martinez, who leads the PBA ranking after 7 tournaments.
The jackpot winner in this 7th PBA tournament is the father of the well-known Korean lady player Bo-mi Kim, who finished sixth at the Women's World Championships in Izmir two years ago. Byoung-ho Kim defeated in the knock-out phase of the tournament Vietnamese Minh Cam Ma 3-0 in the last 16, 1,379 on average. In the quarter finals, Kim beat Jun-huyk Im 3-1 and 1,289. In the semi-final he faced Caudron: the set scores: 15-5 in 6/5, 8-15 in 12/11, 15-7 in 9/8 and 15-11 in 6: 1,437 on average, Caudron 1,129.
The final match Kim-Martinez was a fascinating battle. Kim started 15-7 in 5/4, then Martinez won 8-15 in 8/7 and 13-15: a 2-1 lead for the Spaniard, who already won a recent PBA tournament. The Korean is equalled and took a lead with 15-8 and 15-6. Martinez on his turn drew in the sixth set, 15-1 (3-3 total). The last and decisive set to 11 points, the Korean showed magical class in front of his hysterical fans. Byoung-ho Kim won after a final run of 10: 4-3. The averages: Kim 1,434, Martinez 1,333.
The positions and averages of the best known non-Korean players:
2 David Martinez (1,455)
3 Frédéric Caudron (1,650)
10 Ma Minh Cam (1,443)
13 David Zapata (1,295)
17 Birol Uymaz (1,671)
21 Kostas Papakonstantinou (1,407)
22 Filippos Kasidokostas (1,253)
26 Pedro Piedrabuena (1,186)
38 Eddy Leppens (1,500)
46 Glenn Hofman (1,289)
49 Savas Bulut (1,179)
56 Pierre Soumagne (0.971)
57 Carlos Anguita (0.950)
62 Robinson Morales (0.781)
80 Adnan Yüksel (0.809)
88 Javier Palazon (0.778)
90 Jean-Paul de Bruijn (0.900).
In the ladies tournament, 33-year-old Jung-suk Lim took her third victory in this 7th tournament. She defeated 23-year-old Mi-rae Lee in the final, 3-1: 11-4, 7-11, 11-7, 11-9, averages for the winner 1,241, 1,000 for the losing finalist. The overall average for Jung-suk Lim was 0,829, for the number 2 Mi-rae Lee 0,941. The losers in the semi-finals: Yu-joo Lee (31), 0,721 and Bo-mi Kim (21), 0,568. The winner takes 11,600 euros, the losing finalist 3,700 euros.
The PBA has publiced the money ranking after 7 tournaments in the first season. David Martinez is the leader with 116,000 euros followed by Frédéric Caudron and Filippos Kasidkokostas with 92.000.
The further ranking with the bruto earnings over 7 tournaments:
4 Jung-ju Shin 83,000
5 Dong Koong Kang 82,000
6 Won-jun Choi 80,000
7 Byoung-ho Kim 78,660
8 Min-gu Kang 61,940
9 Keon-hwi Cho 42,000
10 Gyeong seop Jung 38,000
The Europeans and other known players:
12 Juan Zapata 31,500
16 Pedro Piedrabuena 12,160
18 Robinson Morales 10,600
22 Eddy Leppens 10,260
22 Birol Uymaz 10,260
31 Javier Palazón 8,360
34 Adnan Yüksel 7,980
34 Savas Bulut 7,980
44 Kostas Papakonstantinou 5,700
55 Jean Paul de Bruijn 3,800
67 Carlos Anguita 3,040
91 Glenn Hofman 1,900
91 Pierre Soumagne 1,900
112 Allan Schröder 1,140
112 Roberto Rojas 1,140.
For non-Asian players, when the players pay their own costs, the estimate is that they were around 70 days away from home for 7 tournaments and receive a minimum of 7,000 euros in compensation: 1,000 euros per tournament (flight/hotel/meals). They have to be ranked in top 40 to not lose money.
(Rankings: PBA)
The Korean winner (left) and David Martinez, the runner-up who is leading the PBA ranking over 7 tournaments
The winner Byoung-ho Kim shows his emotions
Overjoyed fans celebrate Kim's victory in 7th PBA event
The ladies winner Jung-suk Lim