Shin Jinseo Breaks Jinx, Claims 9th Title; Next Goal: Lee Sedol

Ranked 3rd in World Championship Wins, Following Lee Changho (17 titles) and Lee Sedol (14 titles)

Coach Hong Minpyo: "Expected to Catch Up to Lee Sedol and Lee Changho Within Five Years"

Shin Jinseo 9 dan won his 9th title to become the first champion of the Sopalcosanol Cup. [Provided by Korea Baduk Association. Reproduction and DB prohibited]

(Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Cheon Byung-hyeok = Korea's top Go star, Shin Jinseo (25) 9 dan, has had an unwelcome jinx in major tournament finals.

The fact is that if he lost even one game in a best-of-three final of a world championship, he missed out on the title.

As of last month, he had reached the finals of 13 major world championships, winning 8 times.

However, he won all 8 of those matches with a 2-0 score.

Conversely, in the 5 best-of-three finals where he lost at least one game, he lost all of them.

Shin Jinseo's World Championship Final Win-Loss Record [Captured from BadukTV YouTube. Reproduction and DB prohibited]

Shin Jinseo is undeniably the world's strongest professional Go player, but he has shown unexpected wavering in world championship finals.

However, Shin Jinseo cleanly broke this jinx in the best-of-three final of the 1st Sopalcosanol World Championship held until the 12th.

After losing the first game to Tu Xiaoyu 9 dan, who is considered China's next-generation ace, he won the second and third games consecutively to claim a thrilling comeback victory.

Although a foreboding shadow loomed after losing Game 1, Shin Jinseo did not even give Tu Xiaoyu a proper chance to counterattack in Games 2 and 3, achieving a decisive win.

After the match, Shin Jinseo said, "I thought the jinx would be broken someday, so I didn't pay much attention to it," adding, "After losing the first game, I thought the situation was already unfavorable, so I relaxed, which ironically led to a good result."

Shin Jinseo 9 dan defeated Tu Xiaoyu 9 dan with two consecutive wins after losing one game to win the championship. [Provided by Korea Baduk Association. Reproduction and DB prohibited]

Having finally broken the troublesome jinx, Shin Jinseo claimed his 9th career title at the Sopalcosanol Cup, tying him with Cho Hunhyun 9 dan for third place in the all-time world championship wins ranking.

Now, only Lee Changho 9 dan (17 titles) and Lee Sedol 9 dan (14 titles) have more championship wins than Shin Jinseo.

Shin Jinseo won his first world championship title at the LG Cup in 2020, defeating Park Jung-hwan 9 dan, and has since accumulated 9 titles in 5 years, at the young age of 20.

If he maintains his current pace of winning two titles per year, he is likely to surpass Lee Sedol 9 dan within three years and even Lee Changho by the time he turns thirty, within five years.

All-time World Championship Wins Ranking Before the Sopalcosanol Cup [Captured from BadukTV YouTube. Reproduction and DB prohibited]

Hong Minpyo, coach of the Korean national Go team, said, "Shin Jinseo is recognized as the world's strongest player, but he is also the most diligent student of Go," adding, "On days when research meetings are held with the national team, Shin Jinseo often stays the latest, studying moves until 2 AM."

He continued, "Shin Jinseo, who does not neglect his studies, has a strong possibility of surpassing not only Lee Sedol but also Master Lee Changho within three to four years, or at the latest, before he turns thirty."

In a past interview, Shin Jinseo stated, "I want to maintain my peak performance until I'm thirty," and added, "My goal is to win a world championship once in a while even after turning thirty."

Shin Jinseo, who has already surpassed Lee Changho's seemingly unbreakable winning streak in the national team competition Nongshim Cup, has his future achievements eagerly anticipated. Yonhap News