Shin Shin-seo wins ‘Go Olympics’ Ng Si-bae…South Korea regains dominance after 14 years
South Korea’s “absolute number one” Shin Shin-seo, 23, has finally reached the top of the Go world.
South Korea’s Shin Shin-seo defeated China’s strong 9th dan Shaker, 23, in 226 moves in the second game of the third final of the 9th Ng Sibae World Go Championship at the Sunkou Villa in Changning District, Shanghai, China, on Wednesday.
Shin Shin-seo, who had won the first game two days earlier, improved his overall record to 2-0 and claimed the long-awaited title.
It was the sixth time South Korea has won the tournament, 14 years after Choi Cheol-han 9-dan won the sixth edition in 2009.
Korea, which had won four consecutive titles with Cho Hun-hyun, Seo Bong-soo, Yoo Chang-hyuk and Lee Chang-ho in the first through fourth rounds, continued its winning streak with Choi Chul-han in the sixth round and Shin Shin-seo in the ninth round.
Shin Shin-seo, who took the white on the day, built up a large force on the left and upper flanks to take advantage of Shaker’s early advantage.
When Shaker appeared to be in a hurry for a mate, leaving his center unprotected, Shin went on the offensive.
He attacked the black hemp, picked up a house on the top flank, and destroyed the right flank black pieces.
Confident of his advantage, Shin played it too safe and allowed his opponent to catch up.
However, when the disadvantaged Shaker hurriedly switched to a left-handed endgame, Shin won the keystone central black point and attacked the black hemp, cutting off its tail and capturing it to reopen the gap.
The defeated Shaker twitched here and there, trying to shake up the board, but eventually threw a stone as Shin Shin-seo calmly took it without making the slightest mistake.
That’s when the AI’s probability graph predicted a 99 percent chance of victory for Shin.
After more than five hours and 10 minutes of battling, Shin won the title and took home $400,000 (approximately $530 million), the highest prize in the world of Go.
The runner-up, Shaker, took home $100,000 (about $130 million).
Shin, who until last month had won $710 million in prize money this year, has now earned $1.24 billion, surpassing the $1 billion mark for the fourth consecutive year.
He is also expected to surpass his previous record annual prize of 1.4495 billion won, which he set last year.
In addition, Shin Shin-seo won his 33rd title in 11 years since joining the organization in July 2012, placing him at No. 5 on the all-time title list.
This is his fifth major world title, 먹튀검증토토사이트 after winning two with LG and one each with Samsung and Chunran.
Shin also took a 2-1 lead in the all-time head-to-head series against Shaker.