Evening all. After one lost final and four years of trying, Goyang finally gave Jung Su-bin the night she's been waiting for. We also know the full PBA semi-final line-up, Craig Steadman has won another seniors title in Reading, and the Andover blackball weekend is down to its last few racks as I write. Here's the evening round.
GOYANG — JUNG SU-BIN IS AN LPBA CHAMPION AT LAST
- Jung Su-bin beat Lee Mi-rae 4–2 in the final of the Crown Haitai LPBA Championship at the KINTEX PBA Stadium. It's her first professional title, and it came at her 37th tour event, 1,497 days after her debut in the 2022–23 season, according to Star News. Sidae says she is the 18th different player to win an LPBA event.
- The two close sets decided it. In the second, Lee got to 10 in the ninth inning but couldn't find the last point. Jung came back from 7–4 down, levelled at 10–10 and took it 11–10 for a 2–0 lead. The third set went the other way: Jung reached 10 in two innings, missed four set points and lost it 11–10 when Lee ran three in the sixth inning.
- Jung won the fourth 11–7 and Lee took the fifth 11–8. Then Jung went 6–0 up early in the sixth. At 6–1 she couldn't get her normal stance, so she played a bank shot left-handed and made it 8–1 (Sidae). She closed it out 11–5 in the tenth inning. The other set scores were 11–10, 10–11, 11–7, 8–11 and 11–5. Sidae has the opening set at 11–4 and Star News has 11–1, so I'll leave that one open.
- On the way to the final she beat Park Jung-hyun, the winner of the previous tour event, 3–0 in the quarter-finals, then came back from two sets down to beat Han Ji-eun 3–2 on Saturday. Star News notes that she hadn't reached the last 16 in any of this season's first three events. Her only other final, last season's Welcome Savings Bank event in February, went the distance and she lost it.
- The winner's cheque of ₩40 million takes her career earnings to ₩75.5 million and lifts her from 28th to 15th on the career money list (Star News). Before she turned pro she was studying statistics and came to the game late, so this one has been a long time coming.
- For Lee, it's a third defeat in eight finals. Sidae counts five wins from her seven previous finals. This was her first final in 335 days, so the form is clearly back.
GOYANG PBA — THE SEMI-FINAL LINE-UP
- Noh Jong-hyun beat Kim Jun-tae 3–2 to reach his first PBA semi-final, MK Billiards News reports. He made 17 bank shots in the match. He was 2–1 down in sets and 12–14 behind in the 13th inning of the fourth, then scored three in the next inning to take it to a decider. He won the fifth 11–2 in five innings, with three more bank shots. Noh has been on the PBA since its first season and came back to the top tier through Q School for 2025–26. Afterwards he said (translated): "In the past I gave up easily when a match wasn't going well, but now I realise the moment of hitting the ball is enjoyable and precious." That ends the run of Kim Jun-tae, who'd beaten his Harim teammate Kim Young-won in the last 16, as we reported this morning.
- In the all-Spanish quarter-final, David Martínez beat David Zapata 3–1. MK calls it a comeback win but doesn't give the set scores. Martínez plays for Crown Haitai, the title sponsor, so a win for the sponsor's own man is still on.
- Cho Gun-hwi, who won the first event of the season, beat Lee Seung-jin 3–0.
- Monday's semi-finals: Cho Gun-hwi v Martínez at 12:30 Korean time (04:30 UK), then Noh Jong-hyun v Nguyen Quoc Nguyen at 15:30 (07:30 UK). The final follows at 13:00 UK.
SNOOKER — STEADMAN AGAIN IN READING, BELFAST FOR 2029?
- Craig Steadman won World Seniors Tour event three at the Crucible Club in Reading, beating Jimmy Robertson 4–2 in the final, per WPBSA SnookerScores. Steadman also won event one in August, so that's two of the season's three. Ryan Day won event two.
- Steadman had to work for it. In the quarter-finals he was 3–1 down to Neal Jones and won 4–3 (CueTracker), taking the last three frames 67–55, 76–65 and 57–20. He then beat Barry Pinches 4–1 in the semis with breaks of 80, 50 and 54. The frame scores from the final weren't up when I checked.
- Robertson was playing his first seniors event and nearly won it. He beat Andy Lavin 4–3 in a high-scoring quarter-final with a 97, a 78 and a 99 in the decider; Lavin made a 101. Then he beat Rory McLeod 4–1 in the semis, including a 104.
- The Crucible is going to be closed for 2029 while it's extended by 500 seats, and Metro asked players where the World Championship should go. Jordan Brown wants the Waterfront Hall in Belfast: "I'm not being biased because it's obviously my home tournament and venue, but I've said it loads of times in the past that the Waterfront would be a perfect venue to hold the World Championship." Defending Northern Ireland Open champion Jack Lisowski agrees: "It's a cool idea. It gets my vote. I love the place. It's incredible." No temporary venue has been announced. Metro says Alexandra Palace, the Barbican in York and Manchester Central have also been suggested. Lisowski starts his defence against Huang Jiahao on Sunday 18 October.
- Champion of Champions: SnookerHQ reports, via Sportslife, that Ronnie O'Sullivan will now be invited to Leicester. Wu Yize had already qualified when he won in Shenzhen, so that place passes to the World Seniors champion. SnookerHQ adds that being invited isn't the same as accepting; he withdrew from the event in 2015 and 2023. It's 9–15 November at the Mattioli Arena.
POOL AND BLACKBALL — ANDOVER'S LAST FOUR, BRISTOL STILL GOING
- Andover: the Andover Open (blackball, Karl Baxter Trophy) is at the semi-final stage at the Wolversdene Club. When I checked RackEmApp at about 19:10 UK, defending champion Adam Guyatt led Sam Marr 6–2 in a race to seven, and Josh Sanderson led Mick Warner 4–3. The final is a race to eight. Guyatt beat Wayne Noon 6–2 and Sanderson edged Kev Vane 6–5 in the quarter-finals. Sanderson was a quarter-finalist here last year, per Love Andover. No winner yet, so if you were there, tell us in the replies.
- Bristol, Tennessee: the WPBA Borderline Brunswick/Pechauer Invitational final four (Margaret Fefilova-Styer, Kristina Tkach, Sofia Mast and Briana Miller) started at 16:00 UK. I haven't seen a confirmed result or a winner yet: Inside Spin's results table had no placings for those four when I checked, and the WPBA hasn't posted. I'm not guessing on this one. It's on the WPBA and Borderline Billiards YouTube channels.
- Laconia, New Hampshire: no winner posted yet from stop four of the Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour at Winnipesaukee Bar & Billiards.
INDIA — MEHTA ON WHAT THE GOLD MEANT
- Aditya Mehta has spoken since winning Commonwealth gold in Ahmedabad (ANI, via The Tribune). It's his first international title on home soil and his first gold since becoming a father. "This is my first gold medal since she came into my life, and honestly, the thought of winning it for her kept me going throughout the tournament. I was on the verge of defeat on two occasions but somehow managed to pull through." On the final against Dhvaj Haria: "Dhvaj potted some incredible long balls, but he wasn't able to convert those opportunities into frame-winning breaks. I managed to do that in all three frames."
- Next for him are the Asian Indoor Games, the World 6-Red Championship and the Asian Team Championship in November and December. He's still keeping the idea of trying to requalify for the World Snooker Tour alive.
WHERE TO WATCH / WHAT'S NEXT
- Tonight: Andover Open final (race to eight), streamed by the organisers. WPBA finish in Bristol, Tennessee, on the WPBA and Borderline Billiards YouTube channels.
- Mon 12 Oct, 04:30 and 07:30 UK: Goyang PBA semi-finals. The final is at 13:00 UK on the PBA's live stream.
- 15–18 Oct: Reyes Cup, Makati Coliseum, live on WNT TV (ESPN+ in the US).
- 18–25 Oct: Northern Ireland Open, Waterfront Hall, Belfast.
- 20–24 Oct: Philippines Open, Gateway Mall, Quezon City.
- 24–27 Oct: Niche Cues Women's Snooker Open, Kuala Lumpur.
- 9–15 Nov: Champion of Champions, Mattioli Arena, Leicester.
That's Sunday done. Did anyone watch Jung's sixth set live? That left-handed bank shot deserves a few replies. Back in the morning with the Andover, WPBA and Joss winners and the build-up to the Goyang semis.
— Reggie
Sources: Star News, Sidae, Yonhap, MK Billiards News, Billiards & Sports, WPBSA SnookerScores, World Seniors Snooker Tour, CueTracker, WPBSA, Metro, SnookerHQ, Sportslife, Evolve Eight Ball (RackEmApp), Love Andover, WPBA, Inside Spin, AZBilliards forum, Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour, ANI, The Tribune, World Nineball Tour.
Feature image: “Anzeigetafel mit Shot clock, Karambolage-2” by Rafael Zink, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
