The day professional billiards entered the “billion-dollar era”. The main player, Frederick Coudron (Belgium-Wellcome Savings Bank), was confronted by an unidentified person and refused to give a press conference and left. The problem is that even the PBA officials didn’t know who it was. It exposed a major loophole in the on-site control system that is fundamental to professional sports.
Kudrong won the final of the PBA’s second tour ‘Silk Road & Ansan Championship’ for the 2023-2024 season at the Ansan Evergreen Gymnasium on October 10, defeating teammate Birol Wimaz (Turkiye) in straight sets 4-1 (15-13 15-3 15-5 13-15 15-11). With eight career finals, all wins, and a 100% winning percentage in finals, he broke the professional record for most wins (8).
With the first prize of 100 million won, Kudrong has accumulated 994.5 million won on the tour. In addition, he has earned additional prize money by winning the Welbanc Top Ranking (4 million won) six times and the TS Shampoo Perfect Q (10 million won) once. With a cumulative official prize pool of 1,028.5 million won, he became the first player to enter the “billion-dollar era” in the PBA’s fifth season. Second on the money list is Davida Zapata (Spain-Blue One Resort) with KRW 654 million.
But what was supposed to be a big day for both the PBA and Kudrong turned out to be a nightmare. Kudrong, who was praised for his demeanor as much as his performance, left the arena without attending the press conference. The finals ended after midnight, and Mr. A, who introduced himself as Piavi’s manager, entered the press conference without permission and criticized Kudrong. On November 11, a PBA official said, “It seems that Kudrong and Mr. A had an argument earlier. It happened in the early hours of the morning, so we’re still trying to figure out what happened.” 토토사이트
Piavi had just won her sixth career LPBA title in the women’s division the day before. At the time, a PBA official said, “At first, I thought it was because Piavi was an official of (her team) Blue One, but when I checked, it wasn’t. It seems that she was hired personally.” Mr. A has no relationship with Blue One Resort or Piavi’s management company, Ricoh Sports. However, he has a long-standing relationship with Piavi and reportedly accompanied him on his off-season volunteer trip to Cambodia.
On the day of the event, Mr. A abruptly left a comment in front of the press saying that Kudrong had acted in an ungentlemanly manner towards Piavi. He was removed by PBA officials, and it’s unthinkable in professional sports that an unidentified person would wander into an arena or press conference and approach a player. There are also safety concerns.
The PBA held this second tour in a gym for the first time since its inception. This is a large space compared to the previous events, which were held in hotels and other special venues. Nevertheless, the fact that Mr. A was able to freely move between the stadium and the press conference room, both of which require passes, indicates a serious problem with the PBA’s control system. If Mr. A had physically assaulted Mr. Kudrong, it could have led to even greater problems.
The PBA has stated that it will completely review its existing operating system. Kudrong may also face disciplinary action for his unauthorized absence from the press conference. The PBA will be briefed on the incident and deliberate on Kudrong’s disciplinary action in the coming days.