Go Commentary: Kono Rin vs Lee Sedol – 26th Asian TV Cup

This game is from the 26th Asian TV Cup final, between Kono Rin 9p and Lee Sedol 9p.

Lee Sedol 9 dan (left) and Kono Rin 9 dan at the 26th Asian TV Cup Final.

It was played on August 19, 2014, in Beijing, China.

Lee Sedol

Lee Sedol 9 dan at the 26th Asian TV Cup Final.

Lee Sedol was ranked #3 in Korea at the time, but many of his fans still regarded him as one of the best players in the world.

He defeated Tao Xinran 5p at the first round, and Iyama Yuta 9p at the semifinals, who was the defending champion.

By the time of this final, Lee was leading the Mlily Gu vs Lee Jubango by 4-2, and he was in good form.

Lee Sedol already won the Asian TV Cup twice in 2007 and 2008, but it was Kono’s first time to play in the final.

Kono Rin

Kono Rin was ranked #2 in Japan after Iyama Yuta 9p according to Dr Bai Taeil’s raiting system.

Kono defeated Li Qincheng 1p and Park Junghwan 9p to reach the final.

He was born in 1981, and he was a pupil of Kobayashi Koichi 9p. He became a pro in 1996.

Kono Rin 9 dan at the 26th Asian TV Cup, Final.

He won the 1st JAL New Stars Haya Go tournament in 2004, and it was his first title.

He won the 31st Tengen, defeating Yamashita Keigo 9p 3-2 in 2005, and that was his first major title.

He defended the Tengen title for the two following years, defeating Yamashita Keigo 9p in 2006 and 2007.

He won the 27th NEC Cup and the 17th Ryusei in 2008, and won the 29th NEC Cup again in 2010.

Those were lighting tournaments, and we can assume that Kono Rin is good at lightning games like this Asian TV Cup.

He was the challenger of the 38th Gosei in 2013, but he was defeated by Iyama Yuta.

Their head to head record

Lee and Kono have played together three times before this game.

Kono defeated Lee at the 3rd Zhonghuan Cup round of 16 in 2007, but Lee won both at the 4th Toyota Denso Cup round of 32, and the 13th LG Cup quarter finals in 2008.

It’s already been about six years since they played together last time, so this game would be totally different from their past games.

Let’s have a look at the 26th Asian TV Cup final.

Commented Game Record

Kono Rin vs Lee Sedol

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