From AGA E-letter
SAKAI'S STREAK IN RYUSEI SNAPPED:
After
winning a remarkable seven in a row in the Ryusei tournament in Japan, Sakai
Hideyuki 7P (r) finally fell on Sunday, May 20th, to current Meijin-Honinbo
Takao Shinji 9P, losing by 2.5 points. Sakai is the former World Amateur
Champion who became a pro in the Kansai Kiin. After the initial preliminaries,
the Ryusei continues as eight groups of twelve players each, with each group
playing a winner-continues series in which the players are ordered by rank. The
player in each group who is still standing when everyone in the group has played
then plays in a final knockout tournament with the other winners, joined by the
player in each group who had the longest winning streak. This means that Sakai
is in the final tournament, even though he will not win his group. He was the
third player on the list in his group and managed to defeat the next seven
players above him, including four 9 dans. Sakai is also playing in the current
Meijin League and his 4-1 score is the best at the moment. Three of his
victories there were also against 9 dans, including the current Kisei, Yamashita
Keigo 9P, and the current Gosai, Cho U 9P. He was also in the last Gosei
tournament, but lost in January in the second round to Yoda Norimoto 9P, and he
is seeded into the second rounds of the current Agon Cup and the current NHK Cup.
Sakai got a late start as a pro, at the age of 28, but is doing well in his
early thirties. He was the first player to receive an amateur eight dan diploma
in Japan.
Dernière mise à jour le 29/11/12