News

China was the winner of the World Baduk Festival, which featured 61 countries.China's Ma Tianfang(28) won the grand final of the 15th KPMC  held on the online Go website Tygem on Tuesday by winning the first group title after a close race with Japan's Minoru Ozeki(26).The 15th Prime Minister's Cup was held on-line for the first time in the history of the competition due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the winner was decided by the tournament.

Ma Tienfang, who won the title, is a player who competes for the top two spots in China's rankings, and is a strong player who performs in numerous amateur and competitions.

Immediately after the match, "I think I was lucky to win," he said. "It's a shame that I couldn't go to Korea and compete with players from various countries around the world directly, but the on-line KPMC was also a really fresh experience. We pay our respects to the Korea Baduk Federation, which hosted the Prime Minister's Cup despite the COVID-19 incident."Lee Eui-hyun (18), a Yeonguseng who played for South Korea, finished at the third place in the semifinals on Wednesday after losing to Japan's Minoru Ozeki.

Meanwhile, the KPMC selected major matches for each round provided a real time commentary around the world through Afreeca TV, YouTube and Twitch. In addition, the company thoroughly prepared for possible irregularities by utilizing AI-use detection programs developed by Antti Tormanen (Japanese Professional) along with Skype video calls in each country.
Korea had won seven championships until the 14th round, the largest number of championships, but it has been tied seven times each since it handed over the trophy to China for the past six years in a row.