Sruong leads overall head-to-head 7-5; finals record tied 2-2
The two players who define women's professional billiards in Korea are meeting in the final once again. Kim Ga-young (43), known as the "Queen of Billiards," and Sruong Pheavy (35), the "Cambodian Express," will clash for the season's second tour title.
In the semifinals of the 2026-27 season's second tour — the HiOne Resort LPBA Championship — held Tuesday at the Grand Hotel Convention Tower of HiOne Resort in Jeongseon-gun, Gangwon Province, Kim defeated Lee Mi-rae 3-1 (7-11, 11-3, 11-7, 11-3) to advance to the final. Sruong also booked her spot with a 3-1 win (11-7, 11-10, 10-11, 11-7) over Kwon Bal-hae.
The two rivals are meeting for the first time in 275 days — nine months and two days — since their final at the 2025-26 season's fourth tour, the SY Verite Homme Championship, on Sept. 7, 2025. In that match, Kim defeated Sruong 4-2 to claim her 16th career title.
As the LPBA's defining rivalry, the two have met 12 times on tour, with Sruong holding a 7-5 edge overall. In their last five meetings, however, Kim has dominated with a 4-1 record. Their finals record stands level at 2-2.
Kim currently holds 19 career titles. A victory in this tournament would make her the first player in professional billiards history to reach 20 wins. It would also push her cumulative prize earnings past 1 billion won — adding the 40 million won ($26,000) first-place prize to her current total of 961.13 million won (about $633,000). Across both the men's and women's tours, only Spain's David Martinez of Crown Haitai has previously crossed the 1 billion won mark, making Kim the first woman to reach the milestone.
Sruong, meanwhile, is chasing her 10th career title, which would make her only the second LPBA player to reach double digits in wins. A championship would also lift her cumulative prize earnings past 400 million won — her current total stands at 383.42 million won — making her only the second LPBA player after Kim to cross that threshold.
The final between Kim and Sruong is scheduled for 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, played as a best-of-seven series.
yjc@heraldcorp.com
