The North American qualifiers for the prestigious 15th Chunlan Cup are set to kick off with an exciting lineup of matches. Dates: Round 1Mingjiu Jiang (CA) 7P vs Alex Qi(NJ) 1P - Feb 17, 3 pm Eastern / 12 pm PacificRyan Li(NY) 4P vs Michael Chen(PA) 1P - Feb 17, 2 pm Eastern / 11 am PacificRound 2: Feb 18, 5 pm Eastern / 2 pm Pacific Rules: AGA rule Time: 1 hour / 60 seconds / 5 times The winner of the Qualifiers tournament will be able to join the main championship. More info: (adapted from the official regulation) Chunlan Cup is one of the major world championships in the game of Go. It was established in 1998, organized by the Chinese Go Association, and sponsored by the Chun-Lan Group. The 15th Chunlan Cup World Professional Weiqi Championship invites 24 players: The top 2 places of the 14th Chunlan Cup;China: 9 pros;Japan: 5 pros;Korea: 5 pros;Chinese Taipei: 1 pro;North America: 1 pro;Europe: 1 pro Players, system, schedule and venue: 24 players will participate in the championship which will be held in 3 sessions. 1) 1st session: round 1 and round 2, knockout system 2) 2nd session: quarter-finals and semi-finals, knockout system. Venue is to be decided and it is expected to be held in the fourth quarter of 2024. 3) 3rd session: The winner will be determined by the best of three in the finals. The venue is to be decided and it is expected to be held in the summer of 2025. Prize (before tax): Championship: US $150,000 Runner-up: US $50,000 Past winners, runner-ups and North American Players:
