Won Sung-jin suffers disappointing half-time defeat at Nongshim…South Korea’s first win a long way off
South Korea suffered its third straight defeat at the Nongshim Shin Ramyun Go World Championship.
South Korea’s third player, Won Sung-jin (38), played against the fifth country in the second round of the 25th Nongshim Shin Ramyeonbae World Go Championship at Hotel Nongshim in Busan on Tuesday, but was defeated by China’s strongest player, Sheng Hao (25), in 291 moves.
This was the third consecutive defeat for South Korea, which lost the first round in Beijing, China, in October when Seol Hyun-joon 8 dan and Byun Sang-il 9 dan failed to win a single game.
China took a commanding lead in the match, with Xue Shenghao riding a four-game winning streak of pawns.
Won Sung-jin, who had black as a result of covering the stone, was at a disadvantage in the middlegame as he made a series of small mistakes.
Toward the end of the game, he made a strong push in the closing moves, but was unable to overcome the last half-move and lost.
With the loss of their trusted “eldest brother” Won Sung-jin, Korea was left with only the 1-2 ranked 9 dan duo of Shin Shin-seo and Park Jung-hwan.
For China, the entire team of 9-ranked Qiu Ze, Ding Hao, Guo Zhihao, and Zhao Tianyu survived thanks to the performance of Sheng Hao.
After finishing runner-up at the recently concluded Samsung Hwajae Jae, Xue Shenghao has now won four consecutive matches at the Nongshim Cup, securing a streak prize of 20 million won.
Japan will be represented by Ryo Ichiriki, 9th dan Yuta Iyama and 8th dan Wei Zhiqi.
In the six-nation Nongshim Cup, which will be held on January 1, Sheilhao and Japan’s 9th dan Ichiriki will face off.
The Nongshim Shin Ramen Bar is a national competition in which five players from three countries, Korea, China, and Japan, compete in a series of games where the winner stays and the loser is eliminated.
South Korea has won the tournament 15 times, including the last three years in a row, while China has won eight times and Japan once.
The prize money for winning the Nongshim Bae is 500 million won.
Players who win three in a row will receive a streak prize of 10 million won. For each additional win after the three consecutive wins, an additional 10 million won will be awarded.
The time limit is one hour and one second for each player. 사설토토