The group stage of the 16th Samsung Cup finished on August 26. Unlike other go tournaments, the Samsung Cup doesn’t use a straight knockout in the round of 32. Instead, the players compete in groups of four, with two players advancing from each group. Go Game Guru has a more detailed explanation of how the Samsung Cup round of 32 works. Lee Changho 9P made it through to the next round after receiving a wildcard qualification for the group stage, which he initially expressed reservations about accepting. Unfortunately for Park Junghwan 9P (recent winner of the 24th Fujitsu Cup) and Piao Wenyao 9P (who won the 15th LG Cup in February 2011), luck was not on their side and they’ve both been eliminated. Park and Piao faced very strong competition in a group with Chen Yaoye 9P and Li Zhe 6P. Soccer fans would call this the ‘Group of Death’. The Chinese tiger cub generation are making their presence felt, as are young pros from Korea. In particular Li Xuanhao 3P and Na Hyun 1P are both only 16 years old! This promises to be a very exciting tournament. Here’s the draw for the round of 16, which will be played in Korea starting on October 4 (that’s October 3, US time).
Lee Changho 9P vs Gu Li 9P
Lee Sedol 9P vs Kong Jie 9P
Kim Junghyun 3P vs Chen Yaoye 9P
Kim Jiseok 7P vs Li Zhe 6P
Won Seongjin 9P vs Li Xuanhao 3P
Na Hyun 1P vs Peng Liyao 5P
Lee Younggu 8P vs Tan Xiao 5P
Park Younghun 9P vs Guo Wenchao 5P
– Jingning; based on her Samsung Cup reports at Go Game Guru. Photo: Li Zhe 6P (left) plays Park Junghwan 9P.
