Byun Sang-il Beats Wang Xinghao to Reach Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Cup Quarterfinals, Leads Bid With Shin Jin-seo to Reclaim Title After Four Years

[Financial News] South Korea's two leading Go players, 9-dan Byun Sang-il and 9-dan Shin Jin-seo, have both reached the quarterfinals of the 2026 Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance World Baduk Masters, continuing their campaign to reclaim the title for the first time in four years.
On the 13th, 9-dan Byun Sang-il defeated China's 9-dan Wang Xinghao by resignation as Black after 221 moves in the second day's matches in the main draw's round of 16, held at the Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Global Campus in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. After a fierce contest from the opening, Byun seized the advantage with his characteristically sharp reading from the midgame onward, securing his place in the quarterfinals.
South Korea now has two quarterfinalists, including 9-dan Shin Jin-seo, who secured his place the previous day by defeating China's 9-dan Yang Dingxin. Meanwhile, 9-dan Park Jung-hwan and 9-dan Mok Jin-seok, who also competed in the round of 16, were eliminated after losing to China's 9-dan Shi Yue and 9-dan Tang Yifei, respectively.
Other matches brought upsets and hard-fought battles. Japan's 8-dan Fukuoka Kotaro defeated Taiwan's 9-dan Xu Haohong by half a point with Black after a 358-move contest. China's 9-dan Li Qincheng defeated fellow Chinese player 9-dan Ding Hao, the runner-up in the previous edition, by resignation with White after 248 moves. 9-dan Gu Zihao also beat 9-dan Pan Yin by resignation with White after 200 moves. The quarterfinal lineup comprises two South Koreans, five Chinese players and one Japanese player.
Following the round-of-16 matches, the quarterfinal draw placed Shin Jin-seo against a Chinese player on the 14th—either 9-dan Shi Yue or 9-dan Tang Yifei. Shin has a 7-0 record against Shi and leads Tang 10-7. On the 15th, Byun Sang-il will face Japan's 8-dan Fukuoka Kotaro for the first time, with a place in the semifinals at stake.
South Korean Go is seeking to reclaim the Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Cup title for the first time in four years, since 9-dan Shin Jin-seo defeated 9-dan Choi Jeong to win it in 2022. At the previous edition in 2025, 9-dan Park Jung-hwan and 9-dan Kim Ji-seok reached the semifinals but were stopped by the Chinese players, leaving them disappointed.
The main-draw quarterfinals will be held over two days, the 14th and 15th; the semifinals will take place on the 16th and 17th, and the eagerly awaited best-of-three final will run from the 18th through the 20th. Sponsored by Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance and hosted by the JoongAng Ilbo, the tournament offers 300 million won to the winner and 100 million won to the runner-up. Each player is allotted two hours, plus five one-minute periods of byo-yomi.
[email protected] Park Ji-hyun Reporter