Shin Jin-seo is eliminated in the quarterfinals, and Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance dominates the semifinals to China.
Shin Jin-seo, 9th Dan (left), and China’s Ding Hao, 9th Dan, are playing against each other in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Cup on the 17th. Reporter Son Min-ho
Shin Jin-seo, the hope of Korean baduk, lost to Chinese powerhouse Ding Hao and was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Samsung Fire & Marine Cup.
On the second day of the 2024 Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance World Baduk Masters quarterfinals held at the Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Global Campus in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do on the 17th, Shin Jin-seo, 9-dan, lost to Ding Hao, 9-dan, the winner of last year’s Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, by a score of 187. With seven Chinese players advancing to the quarterfinals, even Shin Jin-seo was defeated, confirming China’s championship in the 2024 Samsung Fire & Marine Cup.
They say Ding Hao is a strong player, but Shin Jin-seo’s condition was very bad. I had a cold and felt physically strained. Although the Samsung Fire & Marine Cup is a forced march in which games are played without holidays starting from the round of 32, the newly established world championship, Nanyang Cup, was held right before the Samsung Fire & Marine Cup. Shin Jin-seo returned from playing four games over five days from the round of 32 to the semifinals in Chengdu, China from the 2nd to the 6th and immediately participated in Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance.
Daejin Un was also bad. In the round of 32, he met the new powerhouse Wang Xinghao, and in the round of 16, he fought his old enemy Ke Jie. Although he defeated the two strong players, Shin Jin-seo was exhausted and could not overcome the defending champion. Baduk was at a disadvantage from the beginning, and Shin Jin-seo used his strength at the last minute to barely balance the game, but was eventually defeated by Ding Hao’s counterattack.
The 2024 Samsung Fire & Marine Cup was a competition that clearly revealed the reality of Korean Baduk, which only focuses on Shin Jin-seo. It was significant that all five of Korea’s top ranked players lost on the second day of the round of 32 on the 13th. Korea’s 2nd place Park Jeong-hwan, 3rd place Byeon Sang-il, 5th place Kim Myung-hoon, 6th place Kang Dong-yoon, and 9th place Seol Hyun-jun were all eliminated in the first round of the finals. After repeated poor performance by Korean players, Shin Jin-seo was left alone in the quarterfinals.
2024 Samsung Fire & Marine Cup semifinalists. From left, Dang Yifei, Lian Xiao, Jin Yucheng, and Ding Hao. Reporter Son Min-ho
As a result of the draw for the semifinals held after all quarterfinals were over, the semifinals between Ding Hao and Jin Yucheng and Lian Xiao and Tang Yifei were confirmed. The semifinals between Ding Hao and Jin Yucheng will be held on the 18th, and the semifinals between Lian Xiao and Tang Yifei will be held on the 19th.
The 2024 Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Cup is hosted by JoongAng Ilbo, sponsored by Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, and organized by Korea Fire & Marine Insurance. Each player is given a time limit of 2 hours and 5 one-minute countdowns. All matches begin at noon. The prize money is 300 million won for the winner and 100 million won for the runner-up.
