‘Re-employment’ was the main keyword in this year’s Professional Billiards Team League draft. The 23rd and 24th seasons will be all about cueing in the hometown teams as the released players immediately joined other teams.

The PBA Team League Draft for the 2023-24 season was held on March 23 at the Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul.

A total of nine teams will compete in the team league, including the new Eswai Group. The existing TS Shampoo Puradak was disbanded, and Hi One Resort took over the team. As a result, Lim Sung-gyun, Lee Im-rae, and Yong Hyun-ji will remain on the same team, but will compete under a different name from this season.

In addition, the influx of big-name new players such as “Four Kings” Daniel Sanchez (Eswai Group/Priority Designation), Choi Sung-won, and Seiginer has drawn attention to the changes in the composition of each team that needs to be rebuilt. Players who were released from their previous teams, such as Jeon Ae-lin (24th in the points rankings) and Oh Tae-joon (16th), showed significant improvement in the 22-23 season, raising the possibility of rejoining the team.

The Hawks, who finished last in the previous season, released all of their domestic players except Kim Se-yeon (18th) and Kim Bong-cheol (43rd). They received the first to third round picks based on their performance and drafted Choi Sung-won and Seijiner in succession, signaling a new surge.

The draft was an interesting one. Choi Hye-mi (56th) and Oh Sung-wook (25th), who were released by the Huons, were quickly “rehired”. Choi Hye-mi headed to Welcome Savings Bank, where Oh Soo-jung was released, while Oh Sung-wook became a new member of the NHL Card.

Jeon Ae-lin and Oh Tae-joon were also released by the NHL Cards in the 2021-22 season. Jeon is headed to the Huons, while Oh Tae-joon is headed to the Crown Hae-tae, once again linking up with Team League.

Interestingly enough, the NHL Card also released Nguyen Phuong Linh (47th), but he went straight to Hi-One Resort, where he continues to play in the TeamLeague.

The same goes for Kim Lim-kwon, who was released when his team was acquired by Hi-One Resort. He found a new job with Welcome Savings Bank. The team, which has stuck with its existing members since its inception, was forced to rebuild after the release of Seo Hyun-min and the enlistment of Han Ji-seung. They bolstered their roster by bringing in Lee Sang-dae (8th place), who had impressed as a replacement for Han in the previous season.

Nothing has changed for Blue One Resort, who won the championship in the 22-23 season. On the contrary, they once again made their roster complete with the re-nomination of leader Uhm Sang-pil (74th), who returned to Q-School after a hiatus from the main tour.

The most unexpected nomination is the return of Byung-ho Kim (81st) to the team. He showed good leadership in the Team League last season, but struggled on the individual tour. Similarly, he headed to Cusco this season and was successful in returning to the 1st Tour. After a less than impressive performance last season, it seemed unlikely that he would be rejoining the team. However, the team has once again turned to Kim Byung-ho, who helped them win the Electric League title in their first year of existence.

Finally, Lee Woo-kyung (No. 23), who was released by SK Rent-a-Car, rejoined Eswai Group, joining Han Ji-eun and Han Seul-ki.

There are also two Japanese LPBA players who have performed well on the individual tour. Japanese players have seen their fortunes soar as COVID-19 restrictions have dramatically reduced quarantine and travel time. Hiwon Resort Championship winner Natsumi Higashiuchi (No. 6) heads to Welcome Savings Bank, while Ayako Sakai (No. 15) joins Hana Card.안전놀이터

Previously, there was only one Japanese LPBA player in the Team League, Oriie Hida (SK Rent-a-Car). This season, however, three of the five (Hida Oriie, Higashiuchi Natsumi, Sakai Ayako, Kobayashi Ryoko, and Hayashi Namiko) have made the team.

After officially kicking off the 23-24 season with the TeamLeague Draft, the PBA will hold a media day on June 7 to kick off the season. Priority registration players such as Sanchez and Chocloo (Hanakad) will be present at the opening day media day to make their commitment. Seigner will join the team two to three days before the opening day due to his flight schedule.

Meanwhile, the opening event of the 23-24 season, the Blue One Resort Championship, will take place on June 11. The team league will begin in early August.