Shin Jin-seo Leads with 6 Consecutive Wins, Korea Wins
Nongshim Cup 16-Game Winning Streak Record Achieved
Korea Overcomes Early Challenges to Secure 4th Consecutive Nongshim Cup Victory
Shin Jin-seo 9-dan, the flagship player of Korean professional Go, led Korea to a dramatic comeback victory in the 25th Nongshim Shin Ramyun Cup World Baduk Championship.
On the 23rd, the Korea Baduk Association announced, "In the 14th game (final game) of the 3rd round of the main event of the 25th Nongshim Shin Ramyun Cup World Baduk Championship, Shin Jin-seo 9-dan defeated China's Gu Zihao 9-dan by resignation after 249 moves, securing his sixth consecutive win and driving Korea to victory."
Shin Jin-seo set a remarkable record of 16 consecutive wins in the Nongshim Shin Ramyun Cup from the 22nd to the 25th tournament. With the victory in the 25th tournament, Korea achieved its fourth consecutive championship in the Nongshim Shin Ramyun Cup.
Shin Jin-seo's dramatic comeback victory evoked memories of the "Shanghai Battle," a symbol of Korean Go led by Lee Chang-ho 9-dan. Although Korea has maintained dominance in the Nongshim Cup World Baduk Championship, this tournament was challenging from the start. Following China's Xie Erhao 9-dan's early seven-game winning streak, Korean and Japanese professional players were consecutively eliminated, making China's victory highly likely.
In particular, Korea faced a crisis as four players, excluding Shin Jin-seo, were all eliminated early. The early momentum of China in this tournament was so strong that Korea had never struggled this much in recent Nongshim Cup competitions. Korea was left with only Shin Jin-seo, widely recognized as the world's strongest player, while China still had all five players remaining.
For Shin Jin-seo to lead Korea to victory, he had to defeat all the Chinese players, a daunting challenge. Shin Jin-seo continued his winning streak in this difficult battle, completing Korea's dramatic comeback story.
In the final game on the 23rd, after Shin Jin-seo took the early lead, the game progressed favorably for him. However, Gu Zihao's fierce counterattack shook the game, pushing Shin Jin-seo into a position where defeat seemed likely. Nevertheless, Shin Jin-seo regained control of the momentum, led the game advantageously, and in the endgame maintained stable moves, becoming the protagonist of Korea's historic comeback victory.
Meanwhile, the Nongshim Shin Ramyun Cup World Baduk Championship is a national team competition where five top players each from Korea, China, and Japan compete. Due to its nature as a national team event, it is also called the "Go Three Kingdoms." While winning other major international Go tournaments is highly prestigious, the Nongshim Cup is fiercely contested by Korea, China, and Japan because it is a tournament that represents national pride.
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