PBA’s colorful international face. ‘Spanish billiards legend’ Daniel Sanchez joins domestic leaders Seong-Won Choi and Ji-Eun Han
The PBA (Professional Billiards Association) announced on the morning of the 19th that “Daniel Sanchez, top men and women in Korea, Choi Seong-won, and Han Ji-eun have completed the PBA-LPBA priority registration application for the 2023-24 season.” 스포츠토토
Sanchez currently ranks second in the UMB (World Billiards Federation) ranking. A player who led world billiards with Frederick Kudlong (Welcome Savings Bank), the absolute powerhouse of PBA. He has won 16 Billiards World Cups and 4 World Championships.
After applying for priority registration, Sanchez said, “The PBA performances of Spanish players such as David Zapata (Blue One Resort) and David Martinez (Crown Haitai) were really impressive. I am both excited and nervous as I have a new career ahead through entering the PBA.”
Choi Seong-won is the first Korean player to win the World 3-Cushion Championships, the World Team 3-Cushion Championships, and the UMB World Ranking No. 1. He won the 2012 3-Cushion World Cup, the 2014 World Championship, and the 2017 World Team Championship with Kim Jae-geun (Crown Haitai) and 2018 Kang Dong-gung (SK Rent-A-Car).
Choi Seong-won said, “I am really happy to finally advance to the professional stage. He has been active as a billiards player for over 20 years, and he wants to show his brightest appearance on the professional stage.”
Han Ji-eun currently ranks first in the amateur women’s 3-cushion rankings. At the Verhoeven Open in 2019, she showed her prominence by beating Teresa Krompenhauer (Netherlands), the strongest in the world. She topped her last year with three national championships.
Han Ji-eun said, “LPBA is really competitive as the best talents gathered. I am excited to compete together and test my true skills,” she said.