Go: The live broadcast queen launched a gorgeous rebellion against the dog

...Sister An'an? Important matter?
Uesaka Rei paused slightly upon hearing this, her gaze turning with a hint of curiosity toward the stage entrance where the lights were converging.

Ai Jianan stepped onto the stage, the lights outlining her young and capable figure. A well-tailored dark business suit made her look professional yet energetic.

"I am very grateful for the trust of the Tongge Cup Organizing Committee, and I also thank all my colleagues in the chess world for their attention."

Ai Jianan's voice is clear and penetrating, with the crispness unique to young women:

"As we all know, Go, as a crystallization of human wisdom with thousands of years of history, is facing an unprecedented global opportunity thanks to the continuous efforts of Rui Zhao 9-dan."

"Promoting the popularization and development of this movement around the world has always been the goal of Jianan Networks."

"Just a few days ago, the amateur Go championships for Europe and North America, which we co-organized with several Go organizations around the world, were grandly opened in Paris and New York respectively! They have received very positive feedback in both places!"

As she finished speaking, polite applause filled the banquet hall, and many chess players wore relieved smiles. But Ai Jian'an's voice didn't stop there; she immediately dropped an even bigger bombshell:
"And this is just the first step in our global amateur league plan!"
"Today, I am here to officially announce that after the successful launch of the European and American regions, we will continue to move forward!"
"We plan to officially launch the amateur Go championships in Australia and Southeast Asia this October!"

Wow——!
This time, the applause was noticeably more enthusiastic, mixed with a few barely suppressed gasps. Uesaka Reiya's eyes widened.

Australia...and Southeast Asia?!

These two places are not places with widespread Go organizations in the traditional sense!
October?! That's fast! This means that an amateur tournament network covering major regions around the world is about to be fully rolled out!

Ai Jianan seemed quite satisfied with the reaction from the audience. She smiled and continued to outline her plans:
"These four competition zones will provide a high-level competitive stage for Go enthusiasts around the world! At the same time, they will also serve as qualification channels for the 'Tongge Cup' Global Amateur Go Finals!"

"I solemnly announce that the Global Amateur Go Championship will be officially held in Gezhou City, Huaxia Province next January!"
"The players who qualify for this prestigious event will be the final winners from our four major competition zones! The allocation of slots is as follows:"
"European region: 5 people; North American region: 4 people; Southeast Asian region: 5 people; Australian region: 2 people!"
"These 16 players, representing the highest level of amateur Go players worldwide, will gather together to compete in the final round..."

"A grand prize of $100,000!"

"One hundred thousand swords?!"×N
The huge "$100,000" on the screen gleamed in gold, and the audience erupted in even louder discussions!
This number is undoubtedly astronomical for amateur chess players!

Admittedly, a total prize of $100,000 may not be considered top-tier in professional tournaments, but as the first prize in the World Amateur Go Championship, it is truly groundbreaking!
It's worth noting that in the past, some small and medium-sized tournaments held in Europe and America often only offered prize money of one or two thousand US dollars, and the accommodation and food conditions were quite poor.

Now, simply qualifying for the competition means cross-continental airfare, top-notch accommodations and meals, and a platform to exchange ideas with top players from around the world! Not to mention the enormous incentive of the $100,000 championship prize!
Rei Uesaka could almost foresee that, attracted by the high prize money and international platform, the level of Go in Europe, America, Australia, and Southeast Asia would usher in an unprecedented and genuine surge!
This will attract more children to the Go room. This is of great significance for the global promotion of Go!

Moreover... she has also paid some attention to the first two rounds of amateur tournaments in Europe and America these past two days, and female players have generally achieved results that are in no way inferior to those of the men!
This shows that Go is indeed a sport that is friendly to women, and we can take advantage of the propaganda wave that the left wing around the world has created to promote Go to the entire globe!
This positive signal undoubtedly made her even happier.

Wow... it's gotten to this point so quickly?
Rei Uesaka looked at that number, and her heart couldn't help but tremble.

The waiters had already begun serving the final dessert to each table. The atmosphere of the banquet seemed to have reached its climax. Kogami Saka picked up an exquisite silver spoon and gently stirred the dessert in front of him, still marveling at the speed at which this grand project was progressing and the boldness of Ai Rui and her companion.

She subconsciously turned her gaze to the reigning champion, Zhaojun, who was sitting at the main table of the banquet, only to find that the newly crowned chess master of China was still sneaking glances at her work, which seemed a little out of place.

but……

The young master of Dongying knew better than anyone that his idol was this kind of person, and then smiled slightly.

However, at this moment, Uesaka Rei was still unaware of...

Although the establishment of this global amateur league is a landmark event for the development of Go on Earth, it is merely a small ripple on a calm sea in the face of the global storm that is about to unfold, which begins with Go but will not end with it.

...

...

The sticky heat of late June had barely lingered when the cicadas' chirping began to grow wildly.

As round after round of competition comes to a close, the 4th Tongge Cup WorldSkills Competition is also drawing to a close...

July 10th was the day of the second game of the best-of-three final of this year's Tongge Cup.

Five o'clock in the morning, in Shang Chaotian's room at the Tongge Hotel.

“Buzz…buzz buzz…”

A phone vibrating, accompanied by a ringtone, stubbornly rang out from the bedside, tearing through the quiet darkness.

Shang Chaotian was suddenly awakened and instinctively groped around on the bedside table, finally grasping the source of the constant vibration. The blinding white light from the screen made him squint instantly.

At 5:03 AM, the screen displayed:

Caller: Lu Wenjie

Wenjie? At this time?

Shang Chaotian was puzzled for a moment—unless there were special circumstances, his deputy would never call at five in the morning.

He answered quickly, his voice still a little hoarse from sleep:

"Hello? Wenjie?"

"...Brother Tian! Sorry to call you so early! But there's something going on..."

Immediately coming from the other end of the phone was Lu Wenjie's voice, deliberately lowered but unable to conceal his anxiety:
"I'm already outside your door!"

"Could you please open the door? We want to talk to each other in person!"

As if to confirm his words, almost simultaneously, a few short and clear knocks came from the heavy hotel room door.

Upon hearing this, Shang Chaotian did not hesitate. He immediately threw off the covers, put on his bathrobe, and without even bothering to put on his slippers, staggered to the door.

"Click."

The door lock opened, and Shang Chaotian pulled it open. Standing in the doorway was Lu Wenjie, whose face appeared somewhat pale in the dim light of the corridor, his eyes filled with solemnity and urgency.

The vice chairman of the chess association didn't exchange pleasantries as usual; he simply slipped in sideways and quickly and quietly closed the door behind him.

"Brother Tian, ​​something's up..." Lu Wenjie went straight to the point after entering the room:

"It's about amateur tournaments in Europe and America!"

"European and American amateur competitions?"

Shang Chaotian was taken aback upon hearing this, his eyes filled with confusion.

Logically speaking, even though the Chinese Chess Association sends people to assist and guide the organization of amateur tournaments, surely they wouldn't come looking for me at such an inopportune time if something came up?
He quickly recalled the schedule, his brow furrowing even more:

"I remember... weren't both matches almost over? What could possibly go wrong?!"

"...That's why this big problem happened so close to the end!"

Lu Wenjie took a deep breath, his gaze fixed intently on Shang Chaotian:
"Just last night at 11 PM! That is, 5 PM local time in Europe! The European tournament has decided on the two finalists... and the result is that two female players have made it to the finals!"

"Two female chess players have made it to the finals?!"

Shang Chaotian blinked a few times, revealing his slight surprise:

"In the past, didn't the men always win the championships in the tournaments held by the European Go Federation?"

“So times have changed, Brother Tian!” Lu Wenjie interrupted his surprise directly, his tone urgent and certain.

Hearing Lu Wenjie so definitively define it as "times have changed," Shang Chaotian finally felt a real sense of reality about this seemingly extremely unusual event.

Although he couldn't imagine how those amateur female chess players, who were always considered mascots of the competition, could soar to such heights, defeating all sorts of male masters and finally meeting in the finals! But since his deputy had said so, it couldn't be a lie!

Moreover, almost the instant the thought came to mind, Shang Chaotian's sensitivity as the chairman of the chess association and a manager who had worked in the sports system for a long time was immediately activated—he immediately understood why Lu Wenjie was in such a hurry to come to him!
"Such a coincidence at this crucial moment...this is going to be big news!"

After making a brief assessment, Shang Chaotian frowned and said.

He knew what it would mean if female players swept the top two spots in the European amateur chess tournament in the world of chess, which was currently dominated by women – there would likely be a lot of public opinion turmoil, and the leaders of the General Administration of Sport and the propaganda department would probably come knocking again.

However, just when Shang Chaotian thought he had seen the extreme of political sensitivity to the incident...

Lu Wenjie's reaction was significantly greater than he had anticipated!

"……coincide?!"

The vice president of the chess association raised an eyebrow, his face showing an expression even more serious than when he had reported on the European tournament results earlier:

"Brother Tian... this is probably no coincidence at all!"

"Not a coincidence?"

Shang Chaotian was completely confused:

"There are no special cases like Rui Zhao in Europe, so how can it not be a coincidence that two female players have made it to the finals?"

Seeing that his superior still didn't understand the seriousness of the situation, Lu Wenjie sighed and then informed Shang Chaotian of another piece of news:
"Brother Tian, ​​this is also my fault! I thought that amateur competitions in Europe and North America were low-level competitions, so I didn't pay much attention to them before. Who knew that such a big news would happen!"

"Two hours ago, at 3:30 pm local time in North America, the North American Amateur Tournament also determined its final champion."

"North American female Go player Lily Brooks defeated Rio Martinez's dragons in the middle game and ultimately won the championship! She became the first woman to win an individual amateur Go championship in North American history!"

? ! ? ! ? !
Two major tournaments in North America and Europe... simultaneously produced a women's champion?!
Is there...is there some mistake here?!
Shang Chaotian felt his brain momentarily shut down!

Despite the rapid rise of female professional Go players in East Asia under the leadership of Rui Zhao in the past two years, and the fact that Queen Zhao herself is currently the world's number one player with a gap in talent!
However, in terms of overall numbers, female players are still an absolute minority at the top level, which is entirely consistent with his previous judgment that "men's talent in Go will eventually be more like that of women."

As a result... a female Go player actually won the championship in an amateur Go tournament outside of East Asia?

And two of them at once?!

Shang Chaotian was completely stunned, standing in front of the door like a stone statue.

European women's doubles final... North American women's champion...

One Rui Zhao is perhaps a miracle that only happens once every few centuries.

But when a "miracle" crosses continents and erupts simultaneously in places thousands of miles apart... what does that mean?!

Just as Shang Chaotian was stunned by this shocking news, his mind almost going blank for a moment, and his immense confusion and doubts were still unresolved, Lu Wenjie's deep voice rang out again, like a countdown to the fuse being lit:

"...And, Brother Tian! I'm afraid the real storm has only just begun!"
"The newly crowned North American champion delivered an acceptance speech at the post-match awards ceremony that was incredibly inspiring and moving! It ignited social media across North America and has quickly spread worldwide!"

"In just two hours, it became the number one trend on major international social media platforms, and its popularity is still rising at an astonishing rate!"

"……what?"

Shang Chaotian felt his mouth was dry and his throat felt like it was blocked with cotton.

He swallowed hard, then managed to squeeze out a few words from his throat:
"...What did she say?!"

"...There are quite a few, but the core idea is actually just one sentence..."

Lu Wenjie looked at Shang Chaotian, then slowly uttered the core slogan that would soon unleash a global upheaval—

"Rui Zhao...

"'She's not an isolated case!'" (End of Chapter)