Moon Min-jong (20), a 6-dan, has won the fourth Lee Bung-bae Newcomer’s Championship.
Moon Min-jong (20) defeated Kim Ki-eon (16) by 224 moves in the final of the tournament at the Korea Origin Go TV Studio in Mazang-ro, Seongdong-gu, on April 18.
Moon, who was runner-up at the first Lee Bung-bae in 2020, sneaked into this year’s tournament at the last possible age.
Only 64 new knights, including those who joined the organization after 2020, are eligible to compete.
After joining the organization in 2017, Moon won the Ha Chan-seok Noodle Cup the following year, and in 2020, he beat the Chinese powerhouse at the Globis Cup World Go U-20 to reach the top.
“It was difficult until the middle game, but I think I finished well,” said Moon Min-jong, 6th dan. “I didn’t have high expectations from the qualifiers because the content of the game was not good, but the result was good.”
Moon was promoted to 7 dan in accordance with the Korean Origin Promotion Rules.
The runner-up, Kim Ki-eon, is a native of Jilin Province, China, who moved to South Korea with his family to study go at the age of 10 and became a professional knight through the 2022 Gifted Entry Competition.
At the tournament, Kim defeated a string of strong opponents in the qualifiers and made a splash in the semifinals, defeating Kwon Hyo-jin 6-dan in a fire game.
However, he was unable to overcome Moon Min-jong in the final, ending his dream of winning his first title.
Lee Bung-bae took home 10 million won for the win and 5 million won for the runner-up.
The time limit is cumulative, with 30 minutes for each player and 30 seconds of extra time. 안전놀이터