Taiwanese go ace and Asian Games gold medalist Hsu Hao-hung yesterday was named “Mr Popular” and the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the sport last year at an annual awards ceremony in Taipei.
In a public round, Hsu won 151 of 630 votes (32.5 percent) to narrowly defeat fellow 9-dan professional Hsiao Cheng-hao for the most popular player award.
He dominated the MVP race — voted on exclusively by professional players — with 57.9 percent of the vote, while Hsiao finished second with 15.8 percent of the vote.
Photo: CNA
“I actually felt a little bit of regret winning these awards, because I didn’t think my performance this [last] year was my best,” the 24-year-old Hsu said, noting a tendency to lose concentration during the later phases of matches.
Despite his self-criticism, Hsu remained the top earner in Taiwanese go for the seventh consecutive year.
He brought in NT$4,942,500 (US$156,433) in prize money last year, nearly NT$2 million more than Lai Jyun-fu, the next player on the money-winners list, even though he competed in only five of Taiwan’s eight major go tournaments, of which he won four.
Where he struggled last year was in pitting his skills against stronger opponents at World Cup events, and in top-league tournaments in China and South Korea.
That means that unlike the previous two years, when he almost always qualified directly for top-tier international tournaments, he has to compete in overseas qualifiers this year, Hsu told reporters.
However, he views that extra challenge as being a positive for him.
“The qualifiers feel less stressful and allow me to enjoy the competitive atmosphere more,” he said.
Meanwhile, 9-dan pro Wang Yuan-jyun was recognized for achieving the most victories in Taiwan last year with 53, just one more than Lai.
Cheng Yu-hao, a 13-year-old who turned professional in 2023, was voted Rookie of the Year by his peers.
Eligibility for the award was restricted to players who turned professional after 2021.
MEDVEDEV AWAITS: The world No. 1 Spainiard said that he is ‘finding the right shots’ as he pushed his record so far this year to 16 victories and no losses Carlos Alcaraz on Thursday extended his unbeaten season and got revenge over Cameron Norrie to reach the semi-finals at Indian Wells for a fifth straight year. The world No. 1 from Spain emerged from a see-saw battle with 29th-ranked Norrie with a 6-3, 6-4 victory. In the semis tomorrow, he faces Russian Daniil Medvedev, who pushed his own ATP winning streak to eight matches with a 6-1, 7-5 victory over defending champion Jack Draper. World No. 2 Jannik Sinner powered past Learner Tien 6-1, 6-2 to line up a semi-final with fourth-ranked Alexander Zverev, a 6-2, 6-3 winner over Arthur Fils. Alcaraz, 22, became
Ollie Watkins’ second-half header on Thursday gave Aston Villa a 1-0 win over Lille OSC in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League round-of-16 tie. Just past the hour mark, Ezri Konsa sent a deep pass that Emi Buendia headed to Watkins in the home team’s box. The England forward noticed goalkeeper Berke Ozer was off his line before sending a looping header over him and into the net. Minutes later, Watkins wasted a chance to double the advantage when he failed to score in a one-on-one with the ’keeper. Nottingham Forest were stunned 1-0 by Danish club Midtjylland, with substitute Cho
Brice Turang and Pete Crow-Armstrong’s consecutive RBI singles proved to be the difference in the US’ 5-3 win over Canada in a World Baseball Classic (WBC) quarterfinal on Friday night in Houston. The US faces the Dominican Republic, which crushed South Korea 10-0 in seven innings in its quarter-final, in a semifinal Sunday in Miami for a spot in Tuesday’s championship. The Dominican team has won all five games in this WBC by a combined margin of 51-10. It appeared the US squad was headed toward a cozy victory when it built a 5-0 lead by the sixth inning. A first-inning RBI groundout
Wilyer Abreu watched the ball leave the park and tossed his bat high in the air. His Venezuela teammates streamed out of the dugout in celebration. The comeback was on and the win over the reigning World Baseball Classic (WBC) champion Japan was within reach. Japan, their 11-game WBC winning streak on the line, held a 5-4 lead in the sixth inning of Saturday’s thrilling quarter-final matchup when Abreu put his team ahead with the biggest swing of the game: a three-run shot off Hiromi Itoh that sent the loanDepot Park crowd into a passionate roar and helped seize Venezuela’s 8-5
RSS