18-year-old prodigy sets record as youngest billiards champion, receives over 3.5 billion VND in prize money.

The 2025–2026 PBA-LPBA World Championship concluded at Jeju Halla Gymnasium (Jeju, South Korea) with two standout champions: 18-year-old prodigy Kim Young-won in the men's event and "Billiards Queen" Kim Ga-young in the women's event.

Their victories not only signify titles but also mark historic milestones for the Professional Billiards Association (PBA) system.

In the men's PBA three-cushion carom final, Kim Young-won defeated Cho Kun-hwi with a score of 4-2 after six sets (10-15, 15-10, 15-8, 9-15, 15-13, 15-2). With this win, Kim Young-won crowned at 18 years, 4 months, and 25 days old, becoming the youngest champion in the history of the PBA World Championship.

The title earned him 200 million won in prize money (approximately 3.6 billion VND), raising his career total earnings to 469.5 million won (8.2 billion VND). This achievement also helped Kim improve his ranking from 13th to 6th on the PBA standings.

Kim Young-won's journey in the PBA is seen as a rapid ascent. He debuted in the tournament system at just 15 years old, competing in the third-tier tour during the 2022–2023 season. After only two seasons, Kim rose to become one of the top players in the highest division. The World Championship title is also Kim's second championship this season and his third career title.

Notably, this season witnessed the dominance of foreign players as they claimed 7 out of 10 tour titles. In that context, Kim Young-won was the only Korean player to secure two victories, thus being regarded as the future of Korean billiards.

In the earlier women's LPBA final, "Billiards Queen" Kim Ga-young defeated Han Ji-eun with a score of 4-1 (9-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-1, 11-2).

After losing the first set, Kim quickly regained control and won the next four consecutive sets to complete an impressive comeback. This victory made Kim Ga-young the first player in PBA history to win three consecutive World Championship titles.

Since the World Championship was established in the 2020–2021 season, Kim Ga-young has won 4 out of the total 6 editions, solidifying her dominant position in the women's event. The new title brought her 100 million won in prize money (1.8 billion VND), helping Kim finish the season with 229.5 million won (4 billion VND) in prize money, topping the season rankings.

Not only adding another title, Kim Ga-young also set a memorable financial milestone. After her victory in Jeju, she became the first female player and the fourth person in PBA history to surpass 900 million won (15.8 billion VND) in career prize money.

This achievement further reinforces Kim Ga-young's status as one of the greatest players in Korean billiards.