This is how the Korean and Japanese knights feel when they look at China.
The Korean national go team (Shin Shin-seo, Park Jung-hwan, Byun Sang-il, Won Sung-jin, and Seol Hyun-joon), including Shin Shin-seo, faced the strong continental winds of China.
Korea’s fourth player, Park Jung-hwan, was defeated by China’s Xu Shenghao in the seventh game of the 25th Nongshim Shin Ramen Bae World Go Championship in Busan, South Korea, on February 2.
Three players fell to Sheolhao, and the first player, Seol Hyun-jun, was stopped by Japan’s Xu Jia-an 9th dan.
Now, only Shin Shin-seo remains as Korea’s last stand.
China, on the other hand, has taken the world by storm, with No. 1 Xu Shehao winning six straight games and securing $40 million in bonus money.
Sheerhao is the lowest-ranked Chinese player on the Chinese national team (Guo Zhihao koujie dinghao jiaotianyu sheerhao).
So he’s the first to go, and he’s dominating the Korean and Japanese knights.
South Korea’s last runner, Shin Shin-seo, will face Sheolhao on the 4th if Sheolhao wins against Japan’s Wipingi 8th dan on the 3rd.
The match on the 4th is the final match of the second round of the Busan tournament, which must be won to qualify for the final three rounds in Shanghai, China next February. 토토사이트
The first priority for the Korean and Japanese drivers is to break the momentum of the Chinese vanguard, Sheerhao.
She is a fast rider who has been on a roll in the Nongshim Cup.
She made it all the way to the final at the Samsung Hwajae last month, finishing runner-up, and seems to have forgotten the fatigue of being away from home.
If Xin Xin faces Sheng Hao on Thursday, it will be a second cliffhanger match after the quarterfinals at the Samsung Hwaajae. Shin leads the all-time head-to-head 7-2, but has lost two in a row recently.
The expectations of go fans are naturally in Shin’s favor.
Shin has won the previous 22nd (five straight), 23rd (four straight), and 24th (one win) editions of the tournament, coming out as the finalist and bringing home the trophy for South Korea.
This time, he is carrying the hopes of fans who want to see him win six consecutive titles.
In the past, Lee Chang-ho 9th dan led the team to victory with five consecutive wins in the 2005 6th tournament and set a record of 14 consecutive wins in the 1st-6th tournaments, which shows the power of a genius.
It will be interesting to see if Shin Shin-seo will be able to showcase his talents against the Chinese, who boast a deep pool of players.