Opening Ceremony of the 28th LG Boat Choson Ilbo King’s Cup메이저놀이터
All players in attendance for first face-to-face start in four years
(Hangeul Go = Han Chang-kyu) The opening ceremony of the 28th LG Cheong Wa Dae was held at the Konjiam Resort Convention Center in Gwangju, Gyeonggi-do, on the evening of the 28th. It has been four years since the 24th edition of the tournament was held at the Marina Bay Hotel in Gimpo, Gyeonggi-do in 2019.
The opening ceremony was attended by all the players who advanced to the main draw, and consisted of introductions of guests, greetings, player introductions, bracket draw, interviews, commemorative photos, a toast, and dinner.
The opening ceremony lasted about two hours until the dinner.
The 24 players in the main draw were composed of 12 from South Korea, 8 from China, 3 from Japan, and 1 from Taiwan. Eight of them (four from Korea, three from China, and one from Japan) are seeded and will advance directly to the second round (Round of 16).
In the highly anticipated first round (Round of 24) draw, all eight South Korean players will face a foreign opponent. Han Seung-ju-Lai Zhenfu, Han Tae-hee-Mi Yueting, Seol Hyun-joon-Wu Zhengqi, Kim Myung-hoon-Wang Xinghao, Ahn Kook-hyun-Li Xuanhao, Park Sang-jin-Gu Zhihao, Ahn Sung-joon-Xu Jia-an, and Kim Jung-hyun-Li Weiqing. The round of 24 will begin at 10 a.m. on Sept. 29.
The winner of the Round of 24, along with the eight players who have been docked, will play for a ticket to the quarterfinals at the same venue on the 31st. The round of 16 seeds are Shin Shin-seo, Park Jung-hwan, Byun Sang-il, Shin Min-joon, Ding Hao, Yang Dingxin, Kou Ze, and Shibano Toramaru 9 dan. The draw for the round of 16 will be made anew to avoid matches between players from the same country as much as possible.
South Korean players who will advance directly to the round of 16 due to a first-round bye. From left, Park Jung-hwan 9th dan, Byun Sang-il 9th dan, Shin Min-joon 9th dan, and Shin Shin-seo 9th dan.
The round of 16 will be held at Gonjiam Resort. The quarterfinals and semifinals will then be played in single-elimination matches on Dec. 11 and 13, and the final will be moved to the third round from Jan. 29 next year. The venue after the quarterfinals is undecided.
The prize money is 300 million won for the winner, 100 million won for the runner-up, 24 million won for the loser of the quarterfinals, 12 million won for the loser of the quarterfinals, 6 million won for the loser of the round of 16, and 4 million won for the loser of the round of 24. So far, Korea has won 12 times, China 12 times, Japan twice, and Taiwan once. The time limit is 3 hours, with 5 40-second reads.