▲ Cho Wan-hee celebrates his fourth career championship.
Cho Wan-hee (Welcome Savings Bank) has blocked Spanish powerhouse David Martinez (Crown Haitae) from setting a record for the most titles in professional billiards history, claiming his second championship of the season.
On October 26, in the PBA final of the 2026-2027 Season 5th Tour, the zgm NH Nonghyup Card PBA-LPBA Championship held at the PBA Stadium in KINTEX, Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, Cho won a thrilling full-set match against Martinez with a set score of 4-3 (7-15, 15-14, 15-6, 4-15, 15-4, 7-15, 11-6).
The final unfolded as a fierce see-saw battle, with both players trading sets back and forth.
In the fateful seventh set where the match was decided, amid a tight back-and-forth battle, Cho held a razor-thin 8-6 lead before scoring three points in his seventh-inning attack to bring the long match to an end at 11-6.
Meanwhile, Martinez, who was eyeing a record-tying ninth career title in the men's division, fell just short of the milestone.
With this victory, Cho added another trophy five months after winning the season opener, reaching his fourth career title.
This puts him tied for third place in most career wins alongside Kang Dong-gung and Kim Young-won.
He also surpassed 600 million won in cumulative prize money (611.5 million won), rising from seventh to sixth in the all-time prize money rankings.
During the post-victory press conference, Cho shared his overwhelming thoughts, saying, "Rather than forcing myself to practice when results weren't coming, sticking consistently to the routine I've maintained for over five years without avoiding it seems to be paying off now. Playing billiards is so much fun these days."
The Welcome Top Ranking award (prize money of 4 million won), given to the player who records the highest game average in the tournament, went to Jung Hae-chang, who wielded a blistering average of 2.647 in the Round of 128.
Having concluded the 5th Tour, the PBA will continue the excitement with the 4th round of the Welcome Savings Bank PBA Team League 2026-2027 starting on October 31 at the same venue.
(Photo: Provided by PBA, Yonhap News)
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