▲ Group photo after the draw for the Round of 16 at the 2026 Samsung Fire Cup World Baduk Masters - Shin Jin-seo (신진서) comes from behind to beat Japan's Shibano Toramaru (시바노 도라마루)... Park Jung-hwan (박정환) also advances to the round of 16 - Korea has 4 players survive the round of 32 of the main draw…challenging for the title alongside Byun Sangil (변상일) and Mok Jinseok (목진석) - On the 12th, Shin Jinseo (신진서) vs. Yang Dingxin, Park Junghwan (박정환) vs. Xie Ke, Mok Jinseok (목진석) vs. Dang Yifei; on the 13th, Byun Sangil (변상일) vs. Wang Xinghao Shin Jin-seo (신진서) and Park Jung-hwan (박정환), both 9-dan, advanced to the round of 16 of the 2026 Samsung Fire Cup World Baduk Masters, bringing the number of Korean players who cleared the first hurdle of the main tournament to four. On the second day of the Round of 32 of the 2026 Samsung Fire Cup World Baduk Masters, held on the 11th at the Samsung Fire Global Campus in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, 16 players, including four Koreans, faced off for the remaining eight spots in the Round of 16. Korea's top-ranked player, 9-dan Shin Jin-seo (신진서), secured a spot in the round of 16 by beating Japan's 9-dan Shibano Toramaru in a Korea-Japan match, winning with Black by resignation after 221 moves. With this victory, Shin extended his perfect record against Japanese players to 46 wins without a loss. In the all-Korean matchup, Park Jungwhan (박정환) 9-dan, ranked No. 3, defeated Kang Dongyun (강동윤), ranked No. 5, by resignation with Black in 159 moves to advance to the round of 16. Meanwhile, Kim Myounghoon (김명훈) 9-dan, ranked No. 9, lost by resignation with Black in 200 moves to China's Dang Yifei (당이페이) 9-dan and failed to reach the round of 16. With this, South Korea has secured four spots in the round of 16: 9-dan players Byun Sang-il (변상일) and Mok Jin-seok (목진석), who won on the first day of the round of 32 on the 10th, along with 9-dan players Shin Jin-seo (신진서) and Park Jung-hwan (박정환). Four of the nine Korean players in the main tournament have survived and will continue to compete for the title. In other games, China's Yang Dingxin (양딩신) 9-dan defeated Tan Xiao (탄샤오) 9-dan by resignation with Black in 173 moves, and Xie Ke (셰커) 9-dan beat the previous edition's champion Liao Yuanhe (랴오위안허) 9-dan by resignation with White in 186 moves. Li Qincheng (리친청) 9-dan also won by resignation with White in 186 moves against Zhou Hongyu (저우훙위) 7-dan. Last edition's runner-up, 9-dan Ding Hao (딩하오), joined the round of 16 by beating 6-dan Tu Zhikang (투지캉) as White by 1.5 points in 336 moves. Chinese Taipei's 9-dan Hsu Hao-hung (쉬하오훙) beat 9-dan Yang Kaiwen (양카이원) as White by 1.5 points in 292 moves. With all of the Round of 32 matches now complete, a total of 16 players have advanced to the next round: four from Korea, 10 from China, one from Japan and one from Chinese Taipei. In the round of 16 draw held after the round of 32 concluded, all four Korean players were paired against Chinese players. On the first day of the round of 16 on the 12th, 9-dan Shin Jin-seo (신진서) will face China's 9-dan Yang Dingxin for a place in the quarterfinals. 9-dan Park Jung-hwan (박정환) will take on China's 9-dan Xie Erhao, while 9-dan Mok Jin-seok (목진석), who advanced to the main draw through the senior group, will play China's 9-dan Ding Yifei. On the second day of the round of 16, held on the 13th, 9-dan Byun Sangil (변상일) will face China's 9-dan Wang Xinghao (왕싱하오). Wang advanced to the round of 16 by defeating Singapore's Xu Xiaopan (쉬샤오판) in the round of 32 held earlier on the 10th. The round of 16 that follows will be played over two days, from the 12th to the 13th. The 2026 Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Cup World Baduk Masters, sponsored by Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Co., Ltd. and hosted by JoongAng Ilbo, carries a first-place prize of 300 million won and a runner-up prize of 100 million won. Each player has a time limit of two hours, plus five one-minute byo-yomi periods. ▣ 2026 Samsung Fire Cup World Baduk Masters Main Tournament Round of 32, Day 2 Results (Nov. 11) Shin Jinseo (신진서) 9-dan (Korea) wins vs. Shibano Toramaru (시바노 도라마루) 9-dan (Japan) - Black wins by resignation after 221 moves Park Jung-hwan (박정환) 9-dan (Korea) won vs. Kang Dong-yun (강동윤) 9-dan (Korea) - Black won by resignation after 159 moves Kim Myeonghun (김명훈) 9-dan (Korea) lost vs. Dang Yifei (당이페이) 9-dan (China) - Black resigned after 200 moves Yang Dingxin (양딩신) 9p (China) wins vs. Tan Xiao (탄샤오) 9p (China) - Black wins by resignation in 173 moves Xie Ke 9-dan (China) wins vs. Liao Yuanhe (廖元赫) 9-dan (China) - White wins by resignation after 186 moves Li Qincheng (리친청) 9-dan (China) won vs. Zhou Hongyu (저우훙위) 7-dan (China) - White wins by resignation in 186 moves Ding Hao (丁浩) 9-dan (China) def. Tu Zhikang (屠志康) 6-dan (China) - White wins by 1.5 points after 336 moves Xu Haohong (쉬하오훙) 9-dan (Chinese Taipei) wins vs. Yang Kaiwen (양카이원) 9-dan (China) - 292 moves, White wins by 1.5 points 〈Thursday, Nov. 12: Korean Players' Games〉 Shin Jin-seo (신진서) 9-dan vs. Yang Dingxin (양딩신) 9-dan (China) – 11 wins, 6 losses Park Jeonghwan (박정환) 9-dan vs. Sue 9-dan (China) - 9 wins, 8 losses Mok Jin-seok (목진석) 9-dan vs. Dang Yifei 9-dan (China) - 0 wins, 1 loss 〈Games Featuring Korean Players on Friday, November 13〉 Byun Sang-il (변상일) 9-dan vs Wang Xinghao (왕싱하오) 9-dan (China) - 1 win, 2 losses
