Hsu Hao-hung remains Taiwan's biggest pro Go prize winner in 2025

Taipei, Dec. 18 (CNA) Professional 9-dan Go player Hsu Hao-hung (許皓鋐), the gold medalist in the Hangzhou Asian Games men's individual event, topped all other Taiwanese players in 2025 with his prize earnings of nearly NT$5 million (US$158,272), according to rankings released Wednesday.

The rankings by the HaiFong Go Association, which oversees domestic professional Go competitions, showed that Hsu took in a total of NT$4,817,500 in prize money in 2025, holding his place as the biggest earner for the seventh consecutive year.

The player listed in second place, Lai Jyun-fu (賴均輔), was almost NT$2 million behind, with prize earnings of NT$2,860,000.

The list showed that only four other players won more than NT$1 million in 2025 -- Hsu Ching-en (徐靖恩) with NT$2,012,000, Wang Yuan-jyun (王元均) with NT$1,907,000, Chen Chi-jui (陳祈睿) with NT$1,591,000, and Lin Jun-yen (林君諺) with NT$1,395,000.

Those figures include prize money and game fees from international major tournaments, but not earnings from overseas professional leagues or tournaments with specific restrictions, according to the HaiFong Go Association.

This suggests that Hsu Hao-hung's dominance might be even greater, as he was the only Taiwanese player to compete in the premier professional leagues of both China and South Korea in 2025.

In 2024, Hsu announced a shift in focus toward top-tier international tournaments -- often called "world cups" in Go circles -- after sweeping all eight domestic titles in 2024, and he still won four of the five Taiwanese titles he contested this year.

Highlights of his season included securing his seventh consecutive Taiwan USE Judan title and his seventh straight National Champion title. His only major domestic setback was in the Taiwan Meijin tournament, where he was defeated in the quarterfinals.

Meanwhile, among Taiwanese female players, Lu Yu-hua (盧鈺樺) had the highest competition income in 2025, earning nearly NT$800,000, the association told CNA.

Lu won the Da Sen Cup Women's Meijin tournament and represented Taiwan in the international Senko Cup this year.