The 9th Tiantai Mountain World Women's Baduk Team Championship: Choi Jeong 9-dan’s Dominant 4-Game Winning Streak Secures South Korea’s Royal Crown
South Korea has once again signaled its absolute sovereignty over the global Go landscape in the newly revitalized "Women's Baduk Three Kingdoms" tournament. At the 9th Tiantai Mountain World Women's Professional Baduk Team Championship, concluded in Taizhou, Zhejiang Province, China, Choi Jeong 9-dan—stepping up as the third runner for the South Korean squad—completely dominated the tournament with unparalleled tactical ferocity. Transitioning to a high-stakes, four-player win-and-continue elimination format, this year’s championship captured intense global attention, providing the perfect stage for Choi to dismantle the finest minds of China and Japan in a breathtaking four-game winning streak that sealed the final championship for her country.
Following an early setback from vanguard Oh Yu-jin 9-dan, the Korean team found its second wind through a brilliant two-win streak by Nakamura Sumire 6-dan, but it was Choi Jeong who delivered the definitive exclamation point. Battling physical fatigue from mild cold symptoms, Choi displayed her trademark resilience and elite reading skills. In what was effectively the tournament's psychological climax, she orchestrated a dramatic comeback victory against her long-time Chinese rival, Yu Zhiying 8-dan. She then systematically eliminated Japan’s ultimate hope, Ueno Asami 6-dan, and China's rising star, Tang Jiawen 7-dan. By forcing a final resignation from China's last defender, Zhou Hongyu 7-dan, in the ultimate match, Choi completed her immaculate 4-0 run, establishing a flawless tactical masterclass at the peak of Tiantai Mountain.
The championship generated immense traction across Asian Go communities and regional sports forums. On major Chinese platforms like Sina Go, local fans reacted with a mixture of awe and resignation, with commentators noting, "Once Yu Zhiying fell, there was simply no tactical paradigm left to contain Choi Jeong," and admitting that the depth of South Korean women's Baduk remains an impenetrable fortress. Japanese enthusiasts watched with complex emotions as their former prodigy, Sumire, flourished under the Korean banner, while simultaneously praising Choi Jeong as a "living myth of the modern era." The 9th Tiantai Mountain Championship will be remembered not only as a fierce display of national pride but also as a landmark event illustrating the evolving dynamics of globalization and generational shifts within contemporary professional Go.
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