Shin Dong-yup is finally taking "My Little Old Boy" outside the studio―heading into a long-awaited billiards showdown with fellow variety ace Tak Jae-hoon.
The face-off, airing for the first time on Sunday at 9 p.m. on SBS’s "My Little Old Boy", pits two of Korean entertainment’s most rumored pool sharks against each other to settle who’s really on top.
In a series first, Shin leaves the comfort of the studio to meet Tak on their turf of choice: the billiards table. The pair have long been touted as the industry’s best, but they’ve never gone head-to-head on camera―until now.
As the two arrived for the match, they were greeted by a star-studded cheering section that instantly upped the pressure. Close friends Ahn Jae-wook and Jung Joon-ho dropped by to back their guys, with comedians Kim Jun-ho and Cho Jin-se also joining. Even Seo Jang-hoon couldn’t help but marvel at the “stacked lineup.” Ahn, who’s known Shin since their college days, joked that “Shin practically fed his friends with his pool skills back at Seoul Institute of the Arts,” firmly planting his flag on Team Shin. Jung countered for Team Tak: “Tak Jae-hoon is good at every game there is,” stoking the friendly rivalry. The hype kept building with call-ins from fellow billiards-savvy stars Lee Soo-geun and Kim Gu-ra, who weighed in with their predictions.
Once the game kicked off, Shin and Tak delivered, trading slick shots and tight frames that even had the show’s “Mom Avengers” panel glued to the screen despite not being fluent in billiards rules. To spice things up, each side unveiled a “hidden card” rule, subbing in a teammate mid-match―Ahn Jae-wook for Shin’s team and Jung Joon-ho for Tak’s―setting off a momentum swing no one saw coming. The twists drew gasps both on-site and back in the studio.
Who claims the crown as showbiz’s billiards king? The legendary showdown between Shin Dong-yup and Tak Jae-hoon airs Sunday at 9 p.m. on "My Little Old Boy".
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Sun-ae)