World No. 9 Won Sung-jin 9-dan was followed by No. 2 Park Jung-hwan 9-dan and No. 14 Seol Hyun-joon 9-dan. In the final qualifying round of the 25th Nongshim Shin Ramen Boat World Championship, held at the Go TV studio on Thursday, 9th-ranked Park Jung-hwan defeated 12th-ranked Han Seung-joo 9th and 8th-ranked Seol Hyun-joon defeated 6th-ranked An Sung-jun 9th.
The Nongshim Shin Ramyeobae World Go Championship is a national competition between the three countries nicknamed the Three Kingdoms of Go. Teams of five players compete for supremacy in a series of games. The winner takes home 500 million won.
The Korean representatives will be composed of one seed, three qualifiers, and one wild card. The seed is the perennial top-ranked Shinseo 9, and the wildcard will be selected by the tournament sponsor in the near future.
The selection process consisted of the first round, second round, and final round. A total of 223 drivers applied to participate. Each ranking section had a different starting line and competed fiercely for the three Taegeuk marks.
Park Jung-hwan, a 9th dan, represented Nongshim Shin Ramen Bae for the 12th consecutive year. In his first 14 appearances, he clinched the Korean title with two straight wins in the final round. He has a career record of 16 wins and 8 losses.
“I lost both games to Han Seung-ju 9th dan this year, and I felt like I was definitely losing the reading battle in the content-complex battles, so I decided to play a concise battle even if I had to fight today, and I think it worked out in my style,” said Kook Hui Park 9th dan.
“I think we can be proud of ourselves for being able to compete in the Nongshim Varsity for 12 consecutive years, and for being able to compete in the Asian Games again after 13 years, and for being able to stay at the top for so long,” said Park Jung-hwan, 9th Dan, adding that he will prepare as much as possible to contribute to the team.
Seol Hyun-jun 8th dan earned his first taegeuk mark. He started knocking on doors in the 16th grade and this is his 10th attempt. “I’m nervous and happy. At first, I didn’t think I would pass, but as I won each game and gained momentum, I think I got a good result,” said Seol Hyun-jun 8th Dan.
As for his goal for the main event, he said, “I will try to win three games in a row and work hard. I’m looking forward to reviewing with the grandmasters, and I’m also looking forward to playing against the top players from China and Japan.”
메이저놀이터 The tournament kicks off in October in Beijing, China. It will be the first time the tournament has been held in person in four years, with South Korea winning 15 times, China eight times, and Japan once. South Korea, which has won three consecutive titles in the 22nd through 24th editions of the tournament, will be looking to make it four in a row.
Meanwhile, the Baeksan Go Tournament, which targets players born before 1969, will be held alongside the Nongshim Shin Ramyun Go Tournament. The selection for the Baeksan Subae, which cannot be played at the same time as the Nongshim Subae, will be held in August.