The 16th LG Cup has continued to defy the predictions of go fans, creating a very interesting tournament going into the quarter finals. As we mentioned last week, Lee Sedol 9P, Gu Li 9P and Kong Jie 9P were all knocked out in the first round of the main tournament. Round two took place on June 15, 2011. Piao Wenyao 9P – the defending LG Cup champion – was eliminated by rising Korean star Kim Jiseok 7P. Some readers may remember Kim Jiseok’s explosive play against Gu Li in the BC Card Cup. Many are expecting Kim, who turned 22 last week, to break through on the international stage any day now. Qiu Jun 8P and Xie He 7P also defeated Choi Cheolhan 9P and Park Younghun 9P respectively.
Meanwhile the anticipated game between Iyama Yuta 9P and Lee Changho 9P concluded with Lee’s convincing win in 102 moves. The eight players who made it to the quarter finals are: Qiu Jun 8P, Jiang Weijie 5P and Xie He 7P of China. Kim Jiseok 7P, Won Seongjin 9P, Lee Changho 9P and Heo Youngho 9P of Korea. And Chen Shiyuan 9P of Taiwan. Of these eight, Lee is the only one with a solid track record in international tournaments, but he faces competition from a number of young and talented players to win this one.
Just to maintain the suspense, we’ll have to wait until November 2011 for the next two rounds to be played. The final will be in February 2012.
– Jingning; based on her original report on the 16th LG Cup at Go Game Guru. Photo: Lee Changho at the 16th LG Cup.
