“I’m more attached to the title of master than the other mechanisms. It’s a lot more intense than if you’ve lost in qualifiers and you’re just lucky enough to make it to the main event. I prepare more and do my best.”
Park, a 9th dan who has yet to become a master, doesn’t hesitate to name Myeonginjeon as a tournament he would like to win. His best result so far was a runner-up finish at the 43rd edition in 2015, just before the event was canceled for five years. Once it was revived, he lost in the losers’ bracket finals in the 44th and 45th editions.
The 46th edition of the tournament saw Lee Jae-sung 4th dan upset in the first round of qualifying. The sponsor seeded Park Jung-hwan 9th dan, who was eliminated early. He then joined the main round of the 46th SG Master’s Championship 토토사이트.
In the main draw, he has faced younger opponents one after another. After falling to 17-year-old Kim Seung-gu in the round of 16, Park defeated 18-year-old Han Woo-jin in the quarterfinals of the winner’s bracket at K-Baduk Studio on the afternoon of the 19th.
“It’s just a machine, a machine (AI). I’m trying to think of the number of mistakes I want to call it, but there are none.”
This is what Song Tae-gon 9th dan, a commentator on the broadcast, said. “The content of the round of 16 match against Kim Seung-gu was very good, but the content of the match against Han Woo-jin 9th dan was perfect,” Song said. “He seems to play better because the game is organized according to his style.”
In the postgame interview, Park Jung-hwan 9th dan said, “I thought I was scoring little by little from the beginning. Later, I scored two points while breaking bread, and I felt like I was playing worry-free Go.”
In the semifinals of the winners’ bracket, he will face Park Ji-hyun 5th dan. He had defeated Shin Shin-seo 9 dan the day before. “I was quite surprised by yesterday’s game,” said Park, 9th dan, “I was surprised that he stayed calm in a bad situation and defeated a top player. I’ll do my best and give it a try.”
The prize money for the 46th SG Bae Myeonginjeon is 70 million won for the winner and 25 million won for the runner-up. Following a round of 16 tournament with a loser’s bracket, the winner will be crowned in three final rounds. The winner’s bracket quarterfinals between Shin Min-joon and Kim Eun-ji on the 20th and Byun Sang-il and Park Jong-hoon on the 21st will follow.