Chapter 488 Now, I want to keep going
At the same time as the game between Arakino and Yasuhiro Ishii ended, there was a sudden commotion among the crowd not far away.
Yu Shao turned his head and saw Su Yiming slowly standing up and looking at him with a determined fighting spirit in his eyes.
Although he didn't watch the game, the moment he saw Su Yiming's eyes, Yu Shao almost instantly knew the outcome of the game between Su Yiming and Zhuang Weisheng.
"Su Yiming, won."
Time keeps passing.
Soon after, all the chess games were over.
The two players who will make it to the finals of the winner's group will be Yu Shao and Araki Nobo, while in the loser's group, Zhuang Weisheng, Zhang Dongchen, and Li Zhijiu have been eliminated, and Honinbo Shinkazu, Su Yiming, and Inaka Qin have successfully advanced.
Including An Hongshi and Jiang Hanen who were eliminated today, there are only ten players left in the loser group, and all the players together only have twelve people!
Compared to the huge crowds in the first round of the single-elimination tournament, the twelve players at this moment are so few!
Just like the previous few days, after all the games were over and Zhao Zhengyang announced the results, this round of competition was completely over.
Tomorrow, the only two players left in the winner group will have a day off, and the competition in the loser group will continue.
And the day after tomorrow will be the winner's group final!
Yu Shao, yes, Araki Ye!
…
…
The next day.
After the draw, the loser group competition began again.
North Korea and South Korea Go Institute, inside the replay room.
A large group of young professional chess players gathered in the review room, watching the live broadcast of today's loser group game while analyzing the chess pieces.
"I didn't expect that Mr. Yasuhiro Seki would actually lose."
A young man sighed as he watched the game.
Until now he still couldn't believe that An Hongshi actually lost.
"Mr. Arakino played so well, it's normal for Mr. Yasuhiro to lose. That one move broke through and responded in four directions. Even now, I get hot all over when I think about it!"
Nearby, a young man in his early twenties with earrings said excitedly, "Mr. Arakino might actually win the championship this year!"
"But Yu Shao is also super strong!"
Upon hearing this, a young man with dyed yellow hair shook his head and said quickly, "Didn't they still not understand the game between Yu Shao and Jiang Hanen, the tenth dan, yesterday?"
"There's nothing wrong with any of Jiang Hanen's moves, while Yu Shao made more questionable moves. No matter how you look at it, Jiang Hanen should have won, but Yu Shao won so quickly. It's unbelievable!"
The yellow-haired young man shook his head and said, "Although I haven't figured out the reason, I think it's because of the new changes. You know, Yu Shao was the first to use the shoulder charge Wuyoujiao change."
"Although Jiang Hanen's Tenth Dan has made some new changes, perhaps Yu Shao has already studied this, so he has other understandings of it. However, if it was Arakino-sensei who avoided these changes, then it would be different!"
"Ten years ago, Mr. Arakino was already the most outstanding attacking and killing chess player, and now he has even reached a higher level. No one can match his understanding of killing chess!"
"Changes in set patterns can be avoided. The decisive factor in victory or defeat is always the mid-game confrontation!"
Hearing this, the young man with earrings frowned and immediately retorted, "No, isn't that right? Is Yu Shao's understanding of killing chess really that bad?"
"Mr. Arakino is good at unleashing the potential of his strength and crushing his opponents with overwhelming force. Yu Shao may not be as good as him in this regard, but he is not that type of attacking player!"
"Yu Shao is good at finding and exploiting dead pieces. When it comes to attacking and dealing with dead pieces, and taking advantage of the first move, I think Yu Shao is one step ahead of Mr. Arakino!"
The two of them started arguing. The husband said he was right, and the wife said she was right, and neither of them was willing to give in.
"Where's Su Yiming?"
At this moment, Li Junhe, who had been silent in the review room, spoke.
"Su Yiming defeated Mr. Zhuang Weisheng today. Didn't you guys pay attention to this game?"
Hearing this, everyone was stunned.
If the duel between Su Yiming and Zhuang Weisheng had taken place before, it would have attracted a lot of attention, but today their attention was mainly focused on the two games in the winner's group.
They really didn't pay much attention to the loser group matches.
"I watched the entire game."
Li Junhe took a deep breath and said, "Su Yiming is obviously stronger!"
Hearing this, everyone looked at each other, and then looked towards the TV screen in unison.
Today's loser group match, Su Yiming versus Zhao Canyeol.
…
…
Inside a Go training institution in Stockholm, Sweden.
"The winner's bracket final will be between Mr. Arakino and national team player Yu Shao?"
A man in his thirties leaned back in his office chair, watching today's loser's bracket match, but his mind was completely focused on tomorrow's winner's bracket final. "A year ago, I never dreamed that these two names would be in the winner's bracket final."
He stood up, walked to the window, opened it, and looked at the blue sky.
"One is a Go champion who has been out of the game for ten years, and the other is a rising star who has only been a professional Go player for less than two years. Who could have imagined that a year later, they would meet on the highest stage of Go?"
…
…
Japan, Hokkaido.
"So, the five people who advanced from the loser's bracket are: Su Yiming, Honinbo Shin'ei, Jiang Han'en, An Hongshi, and Jing Zhongqin..."
A student looked at the computer screen and pushed his glasses up. "Tomorrow is the winner's bracket final. Who will win?"
"Who is better, Yu Shao or Mr. Araki?"
"It's Yu Shao..."
"Or Arakino-sensei?"
…
…
Finally, another day passed.
Amidst everyone's eager anticipation and a flood of discussion, the Phoenix Cup winner's bracket finals is about to begin.
Ever since the match ended the day before yesterday, the entire internet has been discussing Yu Shao and Araki Ye, and until now the discussions have not diminished, but have become more intense.
Even yesterday's loser bracket match didn't generate much discussion.
Although this is not the final of the entire game, the champion of today's winner's group final is destined to be one of the finals, and the answer will be revealed today.
The eyes of the whole world are focused here.
By 8:30 in the morning, all the contestants had arrived, and everyone's eyes were on Yu Shao and Araki Ye in the field.
In the huge competition venue, only the last three chess tables in the center were left.
At the end of the game, only one card will remain.
And after today's game is over, there will be a chess player who is destined to sit on one side of this last chess table!
At this time, Zhao Zhengyang walked onto the stage, holding the lottery box in his hand, and said straight to the point: "Since all the contestants are here, let's go on stage and start drawing lots."
Upon hearing this, Su Yiming was the first to walk onto the stage and reached into the lottery box to draw lots. Next came Honinbo Shingo, followed by An Hongseki, then Jing Zhongqin, and finally Zhao Canlie.
There are only two people left in the winner group, so there is naturally no need to draw lots.
There are now five people left in the loser group, one of whom will draw the only bye in this World Championship, and the other four will face off today, with two eliminated and two advancing.
The player who falls from the winner's group to the loser's group tomorrow will compete again with the players who have a bye in the loser's group from four to two, and the champion of the loser's group will be decided the day after tomorrow.
In the end, the winner of the winner group will compete with the loser group champion.
Some double-elimination tournament rules require the loser group and winner group championship to be determined in a single final match, while some double-elimination tournaments require the loser group to win twice in a row to win the championship.
This Phoenix Cup World Championship adopts the former: the loser group champion. If you want to win the championship in the end, you only need to be the winner group champion once.
Because the players in the loser group played more rounds without any error tolerance, while the champions in the winner group played fewer rounds with error tolerance and had a day of rest, it can be considered a relatively fair match.
"Players who have drawn a bye, please raise your hands."
After all the players in the loser group had drawn their lots, Zhao Zhengyang spoke.
As soon as Zhao Zhengyang finished speaking, An Hongshi raised his right hand.
Suddenly, everyone in the audience looked at An Hongshi with surprise on their faces. There was only one bye in this world competition, and this only bye was actually drawn by An Hongshi.
Zhao Zhengyang nodded, wrote down An Hongshi's name, and then said, "The two players who drew number one, please raise your hands."
The next moment, Jing Zhongqin and Jiang Hanen raised their hands almost at the same time.
Number one, Jing Zhongqin, yes, Jiang Hanen.
Seeing that his opponent was Jiang Hanen, Jing Zhongqin couldn't help but sigh slightly, feeling that today's game might be a little difficult.
It’s not that he is afraid of Jiang Hanen. To be honest, as a chess player who holds two major titles at the same time and is on the same level as Honinbo Shinkansen in the Japanese chess world, he is not afraid of anyone and dares to challenge anyone.
However, the matches in the loser group are more energy-demanding after all. Although the number of matches in the winner group and the loser group seems to be the same, the players in the loser group are forced into a desperate situation and can only fight for their lives.
The players in the winner group will, of course, give their all, but after all, they have an extra way out, so they always lack the ruthlessness of preferring death to disgrace compared to the players in the loser group.
Falling into the loser group and being three points strong is not just talk.
So, generally speaking, although the players in the loser group have lost a game and the players in the winner group have not lost a single game, the matchups in the loser group are more difficult than those in the winner group.
He lost to Zhuang Weisheng very early on and fell into the loser group. Although he had managed to fight his way to the present with his strong chess skills, he was almost exhausted, and the bye was his only chance to rest.
But in this competition, the chance of a bye was given to An Hongshi.
Since he didn't get a bye, the opponent he most wanted to meet was Su Yiming.
Su Yiming is indeed a strong opponent, but like him, Su Yiming had fallen into the loser group a long time ago, so he would rather face Su Yiming.
In the end, he didn't draw Su Yiming as he wished, but drew Jiang Hanen instead.
Jiang Hanen fell from the winner's group to the loser's group just the day before yesterday. He definitely has more energy and fighting spirit than him. If he meets Jiang Hanen in this round, he will probably be in danger.
"Not only me, I'm afraid that kid will fall this round too."
Jing Zhongqin looked at Su Yiming and thought silently in his heart.
His match was confirmed, so the other match was naturally between Su Yiming and Honinbo Shin'ei. Honinbo Shin'ei had just fallen into the loser group in the previous round, so he was considered to be full of energy.
However, Jing Zhongqin quickly adjusted his mentality.
Although he felt that this competition was very unlikely, he would still try his best and fight hard.
On the stage, Zhao Zhengyang continued, "Number Two."
Soon, Honinbo Shin'ei and Su Yiming both raised their hands.
The schedule for the loser group has now been finalized.
Winners Group:
Number one, Yu Shao, yes, Araki Ye!
Loser Bracket:
An Hongoshi received a bye.
Number one, Jing Zhongqin, yes, Jiang Hanen!
Number two, Su Yiming, yes, Honinbo Shin'ei!
In an instant, everyone's attention was focused on Yu Shao and Araki Ye again.
Admittedly, both matches in the loser group are worth looking forward to, but after all, the winner group is the final today!
Everyone was shocked by Arakino's performance throughout the world competition, especially the two games between Arakino and Su Yiming, and yesterday's game against An Hongshi, which left a deep impression on them and were simply amazing!
But at the same time, Yu Shao's performance throughout the entire World Championship is obvious to all, and is not inferior to Araki No.
So, here comes the question.
Without considering the extremely rare situation of multiple disaster cycles, who will win today's game?
After Zhao Zhengyang announced today's schedule, no one left the competition venue. Yu Shao took the lead and walked towards the chess table in the center of the competition venue. He came to the table on the far left, pulled out a chair and sat down.
The other contestants did not leave either. They also walked to their own chess tables and took their seats.
Arakino quickly came to the opposite side of Yu Shao, looked at Yu Shao, took a deep breath, pulled out a chair and sat on the other side of Yu Shao.
Seeing this scene, everyone held their breath, looked at each other, and then walked towards the table where Yu Shao and Araki No were sitting, and soon the table was packed with people.
"Finally... we're here."
Arakino looked at the chessboard in front of him, countless emotions surging in his heart, and finally he slowly closed his eyes.
"If we win this game, we'll secure a spot in the finals. If we win another game in the finals, we'll be the world champion."
"If we lose, we'll be dropped into the loser's bracket and need to play two more games to advance to the finals, where we'll have to win two more games."
"No matter what, I want to win this match, and I'm afraid he wants to win too. Neither of us will ever give in."
"They say the winner's bracket matches aren't as intense as the loser's bracket matches, and that's not entirely wrong. However, the winner's bracket final is definitely an exception!"
"My body has always supported me on this path of Go, and now it tells me that it will do its utmost to accompany me through the final stretch."
"This is the long and arduous journey I've dedicated my life to."
Arakino slowly opened his eyes, his gaze was deep and calm to the extreme.
"Anyway, after so many years, I finally got here again."
“I once couldn’t go on, but now I want to keep going.”
"Keep going, keep going."
"This will be my Arakino's Go!"
"Until we reach the end."
Time passes by every second.
"Time is up!"
Zhao Zhengyang took a deep breath and said loudly, "The winner's bracket final will have overtime. Each player will have three hours. The loser's bracket will still be two and a half hours. The countdown will be one and a half minutes each. Black will have a seven and a half point handicap!"
Zhao Zhengyong looked in the direction of Araki Ye and Yu Shao, and licked his dry lips. Having seen many storms, he was actually a little nervous at this moment.
"Now!"
"You can start guessing now!"
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
