LPBA Lim Hye-won’s unknown rebellion was blocked by Japanese powerhouse Sakai and finished runner-up – Seoul Newspaper

Sakai’s first two wins of the season

The storm created by the ‘unknown’ Lim Hye-won was blocked by the Japanese women’s 3-cushion powerhouse, Ayako Sakai (Hana Card), and she ended up in runner-up.

Lim Hye-won lost to Sakai with a set score of 1-4 in the LPBA finals of the High1 Resort PBA-LPBA Championship held at the High1 Grand Hotel in Jeongseon-gun, Gangwon-do on the night of the 29th.

As a member of the club, Lim caused a stir by repeatedly defeating potential winners such as Thong Piavi (Cambodia, Blue One Resort) in the quarterfinals, Natsumi Higashiuchi (Welcome Savings Bank) in the round of 16, and Bomi Kim (NH Nonghyup Card) in the round of 64. Hyewon was unable to overcome the experience gap with Sakai and had to be satisfied with second place.

After winning second place, Lim Hye-won said, “I am so relieved that (the competition) is over. I feel like I can finally get some good sleep now. “I was so nervous about the finals last night that I couldn’t sleep well,” she said. He said, “Actually, I did not recognize myself as a complete professional athlete, but as I gained experience through this competition, I felt like ‘I am a proper athlete.’” He added, “It was unexpected that I made it to the finals. “I had a lot of luck,” he added.

Sakai, who lifted his first trophy four years after his professional debut at the S-Y Championship, the 4th tour held in September, earned his second career win in three months. She is the first woman to win two gold medals this season. She added 20 million won in winnings, putting her at the top of the season’s prize money rankings (54.17 million won).

After winning, Sakai said, “This season’s upward trend is thanks to entering the team league,” and “playing team league games with my teammates was helpful.” Sakai, a ‘mother athlete’ who is raising two sons aged 11 and 8, said, “Actually, I don’t have that much practice time because I take care of my children. “I always watch my games and cheer on them, but I think I’ll be sleeping today (because the game time is late),” she laughed.

The Wellbang Top Ranking, a prize of 2 million won given to the player who recorded the highest average in a single game of the tournament, went to Ji-eun Han, who recorded an average of 2.200 against Lee Da-jeong in the round of 32, tying the record for the highest set in LPBA history.

Meanwhile, on the 30th, the last day of this tournament, the men’s PBA semifinals match between Eddie Refens (Belgium, SK Rent-a-Car) and Han Dong-woo and Jo Jae-ho (NH Nonghyup Card) and Antonio Montes (Spain, NH Nonghyup Card) will be held. The player who wins the semifinals will advance to the finals at 9:30 PM on this day with a prize of 100 million won.

Reporter Hong Ji-min