Hsu Hao-hung claims 4th Taiwan Meijin title

Taipei, June 23 (CNA) Taiwanese Go star and 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games gold medalist Hsu Hao-hung (許皓鋐) captured the Taiwan Meijin title for the fourth time on Monday, earning his second major domestic championship of 2026.

Playing with the white stones in Game 4 of the best-of-seven final, Hsu defeated 9-dan veteran Wang Yuan-chun (王元均) by half a point after a nearly six-hour battle at the HaiFong Go Association in Taipei, completing a 4-0 sweep of the title encounter.

The victory earned Hsu the champion's prize of NT$1.8 million (US$56,949), the largest purse in Taiwanese professional Go.

Reflecting on the game afterward, Hsu said he spent much of the match believing he was behind.

"Before the final ko fight, I felt I hadn't played many areas well, so I thought the position was unfavorable," he said. "Only near the end did I feel I might have a chance to win."

The 25-year-old also said he briefly misjudged the position and at one point believed he was ahead when he was actually trailing by half a point.

Despite winning the series 4-0, Hsu remained critical of his showing.

"My overall performance in this final wasn't very good," he said. "I hope to bring better games to Go fans in the future."

In March, the 9-dan professional captured a record fifth consecutive Taiwan Tengen title by defeating challenger Chen Chi-jui (陳祈睿) 3-1 in the best-of-five final. The victory broke the previous record of four straight Tengen crowns held by Wang.

Monday's triumph also gave Hsu his fourth Taiwan Meijin title, having previously won the tournament in 2021, 2022 and 2024.

The Taiwan Meijin, Taiwan Tengen and Go Grandmaster Tournament are widely regarded as Taiwan's three premier professional Go competitions, with championship prizes exceeding NT$1 million.

Hsu is also seeking a fifth consecutive Go Grandmaster Tournament title this year, giving him a chance to retain all three of Taiwan's most prestigious domestic crowns.

The 2023 Asian Games champion will next turn his attention to international competition, with the Samsung Cup World Go Championship qualifiers among the events on his upcoming schedule.

Though Hsu has generally been dominant domestically, he is still searching for a breakthrough internationally to live up to the promise shown in Hangzhou in 2023.