Dani Sánchez (Spain, Welcome Savings Bank), who won the Professional Billiards (PBA) grand prize last season, suffered a shocking defeat to a wildcard player, packing his bags in the opening match of the 3rd tour.

Sánchez suffered a 3-0 set score shutout against Lim Dong-eun on the second day of the PBA 128th round for the 2026-2027 season 3rd tour, the "Eco-Friendly Building Materials SY PBA-LPBA Championship," held today (July 30) at the Goyang Kintex PBA Stadium in Gyeonggi Province.

A big fish was caught by the fierce cue play of Lim Dong-eun, who entered this tournament as a wildcard.

Lim Dong-eun, who was trailing 11-13 in the first set, claimed the initiative by scoring 4 points in the 8th inning to win 15-11, and secured the second set as well with a score of 15-7 by displaying strong concentration.

Facing the brink of defeat, Sánchez led 12-7 in the third set attempting a counterattack, but Lim Dong-eun reeled off 8 points in the 10th inning, including three bank shots, to close out the match 15-12.

Sánchez, who enjoyed his best year last season with two titles and three runner-up finishes, has fallen into a slump this season.

He packed his bags early in the 128th round of the season opener (Woori Financial Capital Championship) and sought a rebound by reaching the Round of 16 in the 2nd tour (High1 Resort Championship), but once again failed to cross the threshold of the 128th round in this tournament.

On the other hand, domestic powerhouses cruised through.

Kim Young-won (Harim), the winner of the previous 2nd tour, easily defeated Kim Dong-moon with a set score of 3-0, and Choi Sung-won (Huons) also secured a 3-0 shutout against Jang Byung-dae.

Kim Jun-tae (Harim) defeated Kim Jung-ho 3-1 to join the Round of 64.

In the Women's Professional Billiards (LPBA) Round of 32 held concurrently, Cho Ye-eun—who caused an upset in the Round of 64 by defeating the "Cambodian Express" Sruong Pheavy (Woori Financial Capital)—defeated Jeon Ji-yeon to advance to the Round of 16 for the first time since her professional debut.

Kang Ji-eun (High1 Resort) advanced to the Round of 16 with a 3-0 shutout, while Kim Se-yeon and Kim Ye-eun (both with Huons) each secured tickets to the next round following shootouts.

(Photo courtesy of PBA, Yonhap News)