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▲Chongzhe Tang from China lifting the champion trophy.

The 18th KPMC was held with 56 representative players around the world and with 7 rounds.

On August 31, there were Round 6 and 7 to confirm the final ranking. 

In Round 6, Korean representative player, Hwan-young Choi with 5 wins had the match, which could be considered the final to confirm the champion, against Chongzhe Tang from China, who also had no lose.

▲Overview of the venue

During the match, Mr. Choi was ahead of the 90 percent winning rate until the middle of the game, but suffered a come-from-behind defeat by a big misunderstanding in the central battle. 

Mr. Tang said in an interview, “I am really pleased to win the champion of the Go tournament held in Korea, a Go powerhouse country. I think Mr. Choi thought the White two stones in the central battle could be uncaptured, but he might miss the net move. The fortune was on my side, I believe.”  

▲Mr. Choi (left) versus Mr. Tang in Round 6

Mr. Choi defeated Mr. Valerii Krushelnytskyi from Ukraine in the final Round, and got the second place with 6 wins and 1 lose. Meanwhile, Yu-cheng Lai from Chinese Taipei got the third place, 4th place was Lukas Podpera from Czech Republic, and 5th place was Mr. Krushelnytskyi from Ukraine.

As China got the championship for the 18th KPMC, the total number of wins for each country is as below:

○Korea: 9 

○China: 8 

○Chinese Taipei: 1

For the 18th KPMC, total 56 countries such as 15 from Asia, 29 from Europe, 1 from Africa, 9 from Americans, and 2 from Oceania participated.

▲The Swiss Pairing System with a total of 7 rounds, expanded compared to previous KPMC's Rounds

Moreover, during the championship, KBF prepared various event programs such as Human vs AI, Yut-marvel Go, and Simultaneous games by pros so that participants could have various experiences.

The 18th KPMC was sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism and the Korean Sports & Olympic Committee, hosted by Korea Baduk Federation, and financially supported by Korea Sports Promotion Foundation and Gwangju Metropolitan City.

▲Event 1: Regional tour program - night view tour

▲Event 2: Human vs AI

▲Event 3: Yut-marvel Go

▲Event 4: Pizza & Chicken Party 

(instead of watching baseball game due to bad weather condition)

▲Event 5: Simultaneous game by pros

▲Event 6: Regional tour program 2 - Gwangju traditional culture experience

▲Banquet after closing ceremony: exterior barbecue party

▲Each player has 25 minutes for main time and 20 seconds Fischer Time, which is the first try of the KPMCs.

▲Group Photo