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| Choi Jae-young — Kim Eun-ji / Photo: Korea Baduk Association |
On March 28 at the Korea Baduk Association’s BadukTV studio in Seongdong-gu, Seoul, Ulsan Korea Zinc edged Wonik 3–2 in the second game of the 2025–2026 KB Kookmin Bank Go (Baduk) League championship final. The series is now tied 1–1 and will be settled in the decisive third match.
Like Game 1, the second match went the distance to the fifth and final board.
In Game 1, Ulsan’s No. 4 Song Gyu-sang (8-dan) beat Wonik’s No. 2 Lee Ji-hyun (9-dan) to give Korea Zinc an early lead. Wonik answered in Game 2 when captain Park Junghwan (9-dan) defeated Ulsan’s No. 3 Ryu Min-hyung (9-dan), tying the score 1–1.
Ulsan regained the edge in Game 3 as foreign recruit Liao Yuanhe (9-dan) toppled Wonik’s No. 3 Lee Won-young (9-dan). Wonik leveled things again in Game 4 when import Jin Yicheng (9-dan) took down Ulsan captain An Sung-joon (9-dan).
On the final board, Wonik’s lone female player Kim Eun-ji (9-dan) was unable to close out the match. In Game 5, Ulsan’s No. 2 Choi Jae-young (8-dan) defeated Kim and sealed the team victory for Ulsan Korea Zinc.
After the match, Choi said, \"I didn’t have any special strategy — I just played, and it worked out. With the third match being the decider, I’ll give everything to help the team win.\"
The championship will be decided in the third and final match, scheduled for 7 p.m. on the 29th at the same venue.
A Wonik win in Game 3 would deliver the club its first-ever title; a Ulsan Korea Zinc victory would give them their second championship in two years.
The winner’s prize for the 2025–2026 KB Kookmin Bank Go League is 250 million KRW (approximately $187,500 USD), while the runner-up receives 100 million KRW (approximately $75,000 USD). Time control follows Fischer rules: a 1-minute main time plus a 15-second increment per move.
[Sports Today reporter Kang Tae-gu sports@stoo.com]
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