A team from Taiwan is participating in a major go competition in South Korea, marking the nation’s first participation in the Korean Baduk League (KB League) since its inception in 2004.
The “Formosa Elite Team,” consisting of eight top local pro go players, vie for the league championship and its 250 million won (US$197,142) in prize money, with go legend Chou Chun-hsun (周俊勳) serving as the team’s coach, the HaiFong Go Association said in a news release.
The team is led by Hsu Hao-hung (許皓鋐), who won eight out of nine major local titles this year, and four other pro go players in its main roster. They are Wang Yuan-jyun (王元均), Lin Chun-yen (林君諺), Lai Jyun-fu (賴均輔) and Chen Chi-jui (陳祈睿). Lin Li-hsiang (林立祥), Chien Ching-ting (簡靖庭) and Hsu Ching-en (徐靖恩) are the team’s substitute players.
Photo courtesy of Haifong Go via CNA
The team debuted yesterday, the opening day of the season, and are to play their final game of the regular season on May 10.
“It’s a very rare chance for our go players to compete with the top players of other countries. I hope we can make it to the playoffs and see what we can do then,” Chou said on Monday, adding that he might adjust the team’s lineup during the season.
The team’s participation was announced on Nov. 14.
Previously, Chinese go leagues were the only championships outside the nation in which Taiwanese players competed, Chou said.
Association president Lin Min-hao (林敏浩), who played a key role in getting the local team into the South Korean league, said he expects their participation to boost Taiwanese go players’ international standing and prepare them for even stronger competition at the Hangzhou Asian Games in China in September.
At most international tournaments, Taiwan is given only one or two slots, while Japan gets about five, and China and South Korea each get more than 10, Lin Min-hao said.
Twenty-year-old Lai, who won this year’s CMC Grandmaster Tournament, said he cherishes this rare chance to compete with South Korean world No. 1 Shin Jin-seo.
Wang, 26, an experienced veteran who has represented Taiwan multiple times in top-flight international tournaments, said he sees every match as equal and would try his best to win all of them.
The league, sponsored by Kookmin Bank, is divided into two six-team groups, with each team playing 16 games in the regular season — twice against each of the other teams in the same group and once against teams from the other group. The top six teams advance to the playoffs.
In addition to the Taiwanese team, there is also a team from Japan.
The South Korean teams are playing on-site at Baduk TV headquarters in Seoul, while the teams from Taiwan and Japan are playing remotely in their respective countries, Chou said.
The Formosa Elite Team is sponsored by the Taiwan Chi Yuan Culture Foundation and the HaiFong Go Association, and is to play its league matches at the HaiFong Go Association in Taipei, Chou added.
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