Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik’s victory in Iksan City today offers a timely boost as they pursue a spot in the World Tour Finals (WTF).

The world No. 6 pair fought back from a first-game loss to defeat South Korea’s Jin Yong and Kim Won Ho 21-23, 21-19, 21-14 in a hard-fought 66-minute final, claiming their first World Tour title this year. The new Korean duo applied heavy pressure early on, but Aaron and Wooi Yik held their nerve to secure the win.

Following Wooi Yik’s toe surgery after their Olympic bronze in August, the Malaysians had a slow start upon returning last month, exiting early in the Arctic and Denmark Opens. Aaron shared that opting for an extra tournament in Korea proved worthwhile.

“We’re happy to slowly regain our form after Wooi Yik’s surgery. This is a good win for us,” said Aaron. “It was a tough event, but everything went well. We’ll keep giving our best in the remaining tournaments.”

This marks their second World Tour title after last year’s Denmark Open. Next, they head to the Super 500 Kumamoto Masters and Super 750 China Masters, where they must perform well to secure a WTF spot in Hangzhou on Dec 11-15.

Their Korea Masters win adds 7,000 points, bringing their World Tour total to 63,090, tied for ninth with Indonesia’s Sabar Karyaman Gutama and Moh Reza Pahlevi. Only the top seven pairs after the China Masters will qualify, joining Taiwan's Lee Yang and Wang Chi Lin.