Park Ji-hyun 4-dan defeated Lee Chang-ho 9-dan in a draughts match on the final day of the round of 16 at the 46th SG Bar Hankook Ilbo World Championship at the K-Baduk Studio in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province on Sunday. This completed the quarterfinals of the winner’s bracket.

Defending champion Shin Min-joon 9-dan played an impeccable game and defeated Lee Chang-seok 9-dan with relative ease. “Shin Min-joon advanced to the quarterfinals in a refreshing manner,” said Jeong Doo-ho, 4th dan, a go commentator for The Korea Times, “and Lee Chang-seok is a tricky opponent, but the tournament ended in vain despite his reputation.”

On the other hand, the match between Shin Shin-seo 9 and Han Sang-jo 5, the runners-up of the last tournament and Korea’s top-ranked go player, was a five-on-five battle until the middle game. “Han Sang-jo had a good strategy and we ended up playing big shaped pieces,” said Jeong Doo-ho, 4th dan. “Han Sang-jo did well until the middle, but then Shin Shin-seo, who was a bit more sophisticated in terms of reading and judgment, took the win.”

The biggest question mark in the round of 16 was whether the up-and-coming knights who had made waves in the qualifiers would perform in the main draw, but the biggest up-and-comer, Kim Seung-gu, 2nd dan, was defeated by Park Jung-hwan, 9th dan, in a rout. Born in 2006, Kim Seung-gu was recognized as a terrifying newcomer in the preliminary rounds, where he defeated Park Ha-min 9 dan and Kim Chang-hoon 6 dan to reach the main round. Jeong Doo-ho, a 4th dan, commented that “Kim Seung-gu played a lot less than his usual skill because it was his first time in the main tournament.”

The female knights Kim Eun-ji 6th and Kim Chae-young 8th had mixed results. Kim Eun-ji advanced to the quarterfinals of the winners’ bracket with an upset victory over Heo Young-ho 9th dan, while Kim Chae-young lost a close game to Park Jong-hoon 7th dan and dropped to the losers’ bracket. Byun Sang-il 9th dan defeated Na Hyun 9th dan.

The tournament continues on November 11 with the first round of the loser’s bracket matchup between Heo Young-ho and Kim Seung-gu. The knights who fell to the loser’s bracket can still stand at the top of the tournament if they win all of their future matches. The winner’s bracket will begin on the 18th with Shin Min-joon and Kim Eun-ji facing off. The knight who wins the title of master through the three final rounds in December will receive a prize of 70 million won. The runner-up prize is 25 million won 온라인바카라.