Professional 9-dan go player Hsu Hao-hung, the gold medalist at the Hangzhou Asian Games men’s individual event, topped all other Taiwanese players this year with his prize earnings of nearly NT$5 million (US$158,650), according to rankings released on Wednesday.
The rankings by the HaiFong Go Association, which oversees domestic professional go competitions, showed that Hsu took NT$4,817,500 in prize money this year, holding his place as the biggest earner for the seventh consecutive year.
The player in second place, Lai Jyun-fu, was almost NT$2 million behind, with prize earnings of NT$2,860,000.
Photo: CNA
Only four other players won more than NT$1 million this year — Hsu Ching-en with NT$2.012 million, Wang Yuan-jyun with NT$1.907 million, Chen Chi-jui with NT$1.59 million and Lin Jun-yen with NT$1.395 million.
The totals include prize money and game fees from international major tournaments, but not earnings from overseas professional leagues or tournaments with restrictions, the HaiFong Go Association said.
This suggests that Hsu Hao-hung’s dominance might be even greater, as he was the only Taiwanese player to compete in the premier professional leagues in China and South Korea this year.
Last year, Hsu announced a shift in focus toward top-tier international tournaments after sweeping all eight domestic titles in 2024, and he won four of the five Taiwanese titles he contested this year.
Highlights of his season included securing his seventh consecutive Taiwan USE Judan title and his seventh straight National Champion title.
His only major domestic setback was in the Taiwan Meijin tournament, where he was defeated in the quarter-finals.
For female players, Lu Yu-hua had the highest competition income of Taiwanese this year, earning nearly NT$800,000, the association told reporters.
Lu won the Da Sen Cup Women’s Meijin tournament and represented Taiwan at the international Senko Cup in Japan this year.
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