Blue One Resort leaves, SK Rent-a-Car stays… Changes in perception of PBA team league < Team league < Professional billiards < Text of article

[빌리어즈앤스포츠=김민영 기자] Blue One Resort, which was decided to be sold last year, will eventually leave the professional billiards PBA.

On the other hand, SK Rent-a-Car, which has recently been rumored to be sold, will remain in the PBA and challenge the champion team that narrowly missed out on last season’s PBA Team League postseason.

The Professional Billiards Association (PBA, President Kim Young-soo) announced through a press release on the morning of the 23rd that Woori Financial Group’s Woori Financial Capital (CEO Jeong Yeon-ki) acquired Blue One Resort’s Blue One Angels and newly joined the PBA. .

According to the PBA’s announcement, Woori Financial Capital will create a new team in one PBA tour and team league next season.

However, rather than forming a completely new team, Woori Financial Capital will join the PBA Team League by acquiring Blue One Angels players on behalf of Blue One Resort, whose sponsorship has ended.

Blue One Resort’s owner Jae-yeon Yoon, who has supported the PBA since the first year of its launch and has run the PBA tour and PBA team, has been greatly loved by PBA fans by frequently visiting the PBA tournament venue to cheer on not only team leagues but also team players’ individual games.

However, as it became known that Taeyoung Group, the parent company of Blue One Co., Ltd., was pursuing the sale of Blue One, a leisure affiliate, the theory of the dissolution of Blue One Angels came to the fore, and in particular, the owner Jae-yeon Yoon, who visited the PBA tournament venue more often than any other team owner, came to the fore. It started to slow down, causing anxiety among Blue One Angels fans.

In the end, the anxiety became reality.

Blue One Resort ended its PBA sponsorship at the end of last season, and even the Blue One Angels were in danger of being disbanded.

However, fortunately, the new sponsor, Woori Financial Capital, decided to form a new team by acquiring the Blue One Angels players, allowing the Blue One Angels players to remain in the PBA team league.

As a result, ‘Cambodia Express’ Thong Piavi, David Zapata (Spain), Eom Sang-pil, Kang Min-gu, Seo Han-sol, and Kim Min-young will stand in front of billiards fans in the new season wearing Woori Financial Capital’s new uniform instead of the Blue One Resort uniform.

Meanwhile, SK Rent-a-Car, which has recently been rumored to be sold, will remain in the PBA in the next season.

A PBA official said, “Blue One Resort will be withdrawn from the PBA starting next season, but SK Rent-a-Car will maintain its current team.”

SK Rent-a-Car Direct, which advanced to the postseason for the first time last season, survived until the finals and competed against Hana Card and Hana Pay, but unfortunately lost on the last day and ended up in second place.

Accordingly, SK Rent-a-Car, which went on a training and reward vacation to teammate Ngo Dinh Nai’s hometown of Vietnam as soon as the season ended, showed strong enthusiasm in an interview with this newspaper, saying, “We will definitely win the championship next season.”

The 2024-2025 PBA Team League season is scheduled to open in July.

(Photo = Billys & Sports DB)