▲ Players participating in the 28th Nongshim Sinramen Cup
The Nongshim Cup, a "Go Three Kingdoms" clash between South Korea, China, and Japan, has opened its 28th tournament.
The opening ceremony for the 28th Nongshim Sinramen Cup World Go Championship took place in Beijing, China, on the afternoon of the 8th.
According to the draw at the opening ceremony, China and Japan will face each other in the first match on the 9th.
China has put forward 9-dan Yang Dingxin as its vanguard, while Japan selected 7-dan Fukuoka Kotaro.
South Korea, having avoided the first match, will send 9-dan Ahn Sung-jun to face the winner of the China-Japan match in the second game on the 10th.
Aiming for its seventh consecutive tournament victory, South Korea is represented by 9-dans Shin Jin-seo, Park Jung-hwan, Shin Min-jun, Byun Sang-il, and Ahn Sung-jun.
China's lineup features 9-dans Dang Yifei, Yang Dingxin, Tu Xiaoyu, Liao Yuanhe, and Wang Xinghao, while Japan selected Iyama Yuta, Ichiriki Ryo, Shibano Toramaru, Yu Zhengqi, and Fukuoka.
Powered by the stellar performances of its ultimate guardian Shin Jin-seo, South Korea has won six consecutive titles from the 22nd to the 27th tournaments.
In the 4th Nongshim Baeksansu Cup World Senior Go Championship, held alongside the Nongshim Sinramen Cup, South Korea also received a bye for the first match.
The first match of the Baeksansu Cup will feature China's 9-dan Cao Dayuan against Japan's 9-dan Ryu Shikun.
South Korea's 9-dan Kim Young-sam will step up for the second match.
The Nongshim Sinramen Cup is a national team competition where five players from each of the three countries—South Korea, China, and Japan—compete in a consecutive-win format, where the winner continues to play and the loser is eliminated until the champion is decided.
The Baeksansu Cup, which features players aged 50 and older, has four participants per country.
South Korea's roster for the Baeksansu Cup includes 9-dan Lee Chang-ho, who is participating in the tournament for the first time, alongside 9-dans Cho Hoon-hyun, Yoo Chang-hyuk, and Kim Young-sam.
The team championship prize money is 500 million KRW for the Sinramen Cup and 180 million KRW for the Baeksansu Cup.
There is no prize money for the second and third-place teams.
(Photo courtesy of Korea Baduk Association, Yonhap News)
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