South Korea’s “guardian god” of Go, 23-year-old Shin Shin-seo, continued his winning streak at the national tournament, the Nongshim Bae. Shin Shin-seo defeated Japan’s last player, Yuta Iyama 9th dan, in 165 moves in the first game of the third round of the 25th Nongshim Shin Ramen Bae World Go Championship in Shanghai, China, on Monday .South Korea’s last player, Shin Shin-seo, made it two wins in a row in the tournament, raising hopes of an upset victory. Shin Shin-seo, who took black on the day, gained the upper hand in an early midgame right-handed exchange .After building a big house in the center, Shin continued his advantage and won the game on the left side.
Japan was eliminated early with Iyama’s defeat, clinching last place .Shin Shin-seo’s next target is China’s top quartet of 9th dan: Cui Jie, Ding Hao, Guo Zhihao, and Zhao Tianyu. For South Korea to pull off the upset, Shin will need to defeat all four of them one after the other and pull off a miraculous “sixth and final” victory. Previously, South Korea won its third consecutive title at the 22nd edition of the tournament thanks to Shin Shin-seo’s performance .After winning five straight games as the fourth runner in the 22nd tournament, Shin Shin-seo won four straight games as the last runner in the 23rd tournament and won the final game in the 23rd tournament to give Korea the title. With 12 consecutive wins from the 22nd tournament to this one, Shin Shin-seo is now second on the all-time winning streak list behind Lee Chang-ho, who won 14 consecutive tournaments from the 1st to the 6th.However, Shin Shin-seo’s fatigue from playing a “one-man show” on the Nongshim boat every time is taking its toll.
South Korea’s 8th dan Seol Hyun-joon and 9th dan Byun Sang-il, Won Sung-jin and Park Jung-hwan were eliminated from the tournament without a single win.Shin Shin-seo will face China’s Zhao Tian-yu in the 11-nation tournament on Tuesday. Meanwhile, in the Nongshim Baeksan Manhunt, which was also held on the same day, Choi Kyu-byung 9th dan defeated China’s Qiao Da-yuan 9th dan for his second straight win. The Baeksan Wanted is a senior national tournament for professional knights born before 1969 in Korea, China and Japan .Choi Kyu Byung will face Japan’s Masaki Takemiya 9th Dan on Tuesday. The prize money for the Shin Ramyeonbae is 500 million won.A player who wins three games in a row will receive a streak prize of 10 million won. For each additional win after three consecutive wins, an additional 10 million won will be paid. The prize for winning the Baeksan Manhunt is 메이저 180 million won, and the streak prize is 5 million won.