Kim Young-won, the youngest winner of the PBA, passed the round of 128, predicted a sensation again after a slump in the early part of the season

Sep 04, 2025

'Teenage Supernova'Kim Young-won reached the round of 64 in the fourth PBA tour of the 2025-2026 season. Photo courtesy =PBA

Kim Young-won (Harim, 17), who set the record of being the youngest winner in PBA history, overcame the slump at the beginning of the season and predicted another sensation.

Kim Young-won defeated Hwang Jae-won, who participated as a wild card in the round of 128 PBA of the 'SY Veritehomme PBA-LPBA Championship' in the fourth round of Prodanggu in the 2025-2026 season at Goyang City, Gyeonggi Province, on the 3rd and advanced to the round of 64.

The result was a complete victory, but the game was fierce. Kim Young-won took the lead by winning 15-10 after 13 close innings in the first set. However, he faced defeat in the second set. Hwang Jae-won scored five consecutive points in nine innings when he was trailing 6-8, turning the tide to 11-8.

However, Kim Young-won's temperament as an adventurer was shown in the crisis. Kim Young-won immediately added three more runs to the next inning's offense, tying it at 11-11. Then, when Hwang Jae-won took over the opportunity after hitting a ball in the 10th inning of the attack, he immediately made two consecutive bank shots and won the set 15-11.

With a come-from-behind victory in the second set, the flow completely shifted toward Kim Young-won. The third set was bland. In nine innings, Kim Young-won won lightly 15-3 to end the game with a set score of 3-0. Kim Young-won will face Lee Young-hoon in the round of 64.

'Teenage Supernova' Kim Young-won appeared like a comet, winning the title at the age of 17 years and 23 days in the sixth tour (NH Nonghyup Card Championship) of the 2024-2025 season. It was the youngest ever to win a championship since the launch of the PBA. Expectations have grown that a new native star has appeared on the PBA stage.

However, Kim Young-won did not perform very well at the beginning of this season. In the opening tour (Woori Financial Capital Championship), it reached the round of 64, but in the second tour (Hana Card Championship) and the third tour (NH Nonghyup Card Championship), it was eliminated early in the round of 128. Expectations are growing whether Kim Young-won, who passed the round of 128 lightly in the fourth tour, will become the main player of the sensation again.

Vietnam-born Nguyen Quoc Nguyen achieved more than three points in the 128th round of the PBA's fourth round of the 2025-2026 season. Photo courtesy =PBA

Meanwhile, a large number of PBA traditional powerhouses also succeeded in advancing to the round of 64. Kang Dong-gung (SK Rent-a-Car) defeated Choi Yul (15) of the wild card, the youngest participant in this competition, with a set score of 3-0. Team League 2nd Round MVP'Daniel Sanchez (Spain, Welcome Savings Bank) also beat Lee Dong-min 3-0. 'Mr. Magic' Semi-Signer (Turkey, Welcome Savings Bank) and Kim Joon-tae (Harim) won the match against Jeon Jae-hyung and Han Dong-woo, respectively, and barely advanced to the round of 64.

In addition, Vietnamese players continued to do well. Nguyen Kuok Nguyen (Hana Card) won the round of 128, scoring a whopping three-point average (3.214). Mamin Gum (NH Nonghyup Card) also scored 2.813, beating Ko Kyung-nam 3-0. Tran Deuk-min (Harim), Nguyen Phuong Lin (Harim), and Nguyen Phuong Lin (Harim) advanced to the round of 64 side by side by beating Jeon In-hyuk, Shin Joo-hyun, Choi Han-sol, by a set score of 3-1.

However, strong players such as Um Sang-pil (Woori Financial Capital), David Zapata (Spain, Woori Financial Capital), and Shin Jung-joo (Hana Card), who finished second on the third tour, were eliminated from the round of 128.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.