Go: Is the portable old man the nine-time champion?

Chapter 155 Stronger than Hard but Weaker than Soft [Bonus Chapter for 3000 Monthly Tickets Last Month]

"Yesterday, the World Cup finals came to a close. Lee Jun-hyuk 9-dan came back from two consecutive losses in the first stage to win three straight games and defeat Ethan 9-dan from Alika to win another World Cup title. This is his fourth World Cup title in his career... How come this old man is having a sudden resurgence?"

Looking at today's news, Jianghu couldn't help but take a deep breath, feeling a bit incredulous.

It's worth noting that Li Junhe suffered three or four defeats in the finals last year, leading many to lament that the once invincible Li Junhe had grown old and that an era was coming to an end.

This time, in the World Cup final, they faced a 19-year-old American prodigy. Most people were not optimistic about Lee Jun-hyuk, after all, the impact of a young person is too strong.

As the saying goes, time is like a knife that cuts down even the most talented, and even the strongest genius appears incredibly fragile in the face of time.

Especially in the first two games of the first stage of the World Cup final, Lee Jun-hyuk was defeated 0-2, which would have ended the game in a best-of-three series.

Alirika even opened champagne before halftime to celebrate the birth of the youngest World Cup champion in history.

After all, there has never been a chess player in the world who could win the World Cup before the age of twenty. Amelika is about to make history.

But who knew that after the New Year, Li Junhe suddenly seemed to have exploded with energy, performing exceptionally well in various competitions, with his win rate even rising to 80%, as if he had suddenly returned to his peak.

Just a few days ago, they won three consecutive games, shattering the United States' dream of producing the youngest World Cup champion and winning another World Cup title.

"It's just terrible."

Everyone in the martial arts world felt something was wrong: "What the hell! Legend is still doing sit-ups."

Whether you like it or not, the number of championships Lee Jun-hyuk has won is undeniable. At the age of thirty, he can still dominate the younger generation, which is truly remarkable.

Yi Zheng, holding a glass of ginger cola, leaned against the wall upon hearing the news and said, "Perhaps it's because of AlphaGo's motivation. After all, those two will be playing against each other in a few months."

Jianghu didn't hesitate at all when he heard this: "Then I still favor AlphaGo, he is the one everyone hopes for!"

After all, AlphaGo's fleeting dominance far surpassed Lee Jun-hyuk's most dominant period.

At its peak during Lee Jun-hyuk's reign, AlphaGo's win rate for the entire year was only 86%, while AlphaGo has never lost to any top players online.

Qi Ling took a bottle of mineral water from the vending machine next to him: "But after winning this championship, Da Li's value is going to rise again. It is said that his team originally wanted to reduce his salary, but now they will probably have to raise it, otherwise he will be poached by someone else."

Go is extremely commercialized in the world, and it is a national sport.

The value of players in various top-tier leagues has naturally increased, because there are no geographical restrictions on player movement, and how much money you can earn depends entirely on how strong your skills are.

Lee Jun-hyuk's value is in a class of its own, after all, as the former world number one, he is still one of the world's top-tier athletes.

He even set a record for the highest salary in the Chinese Go League back then, a record that remains unbroken to this day.

"How high would you call that a high price tag? If AlphaGo were to emerge, countless teams would probably fight tooth and nail to sign him."

"It's probably not very realistic. The Go League requires professional players to participate, and there are no professional players who can match AlphaGo right now. He would have to achieve a professional ranking before he could participate in the Go League."

AlphaGo is simply not suited for professional leagues because it's not a professional. The Chinese team members seemed quite relaxed, as China had achieved a resounding victory in this qualifying tournament.

All three groups have already secured their spots in the knockout stage, and the other two groups also have a very high chance of advancing.

Even in this year's Asian selection, the probability of an all-Chinese team is extremely high, which also demonstrates the current dominance of China's new generation of Go players in Asia.

"Qi Ling, it's been a long time."

As the group was chatting, another person came over and greeted them. Seeing the familiar face, Qi Ling smiled and stood up.

"Zong Rui, long time no see. You've lost weight again. Your country's cafeteria isn't good either. Why don't you come to our training camp again? You at least gained two pounds when you left before."

The person who came was Li Zongrui, Yi Zheng's opponent today. He had also spent a year with the Chinese national team, so he was quite familiar with the three musketeers and several other players from other national teams.

After all, Chinese people make up a large proportion of the population in Malaysia, and many of them are immigrants from the era of China's maritime exploration.

Qi Ling remembered that there was another person among them who wasn't Li Zongrui's acquaintance, so she pulled the two people aside and introduced them: "You probably aren't very familiar with your opponents today, so let me introduce you. This is Yi Zheng, who is in the national youth team this year. Don't think he's just a first-dan player. He just beat that fat guy a while ago and made it to the finals of the Rookie King competition."

Old Chen has been training lately, staying up all night every day. He was never this nervous when he faced me in the finals before.

"I know you. I watched your game a while ago. Your playing style is very unique. Among the many learners of AlphaGo, you should be one of the best learners."

Li Zongrui shook hands with Yi Zheng, who was standing in front of him, and smiled shyly.

As a Malaysian prodigy and the country's sharpest sword, Lee Chong Rui doesn't usually appear aggressive; in fact, he seems somewhat introverted.

Yi Zheng smiled and nodded, saying, "I've also seen your game records. Your mid-game fighting ability is very strong."

Among the new generation of chess players, the fighting style accounts for more than half, but although they are all fighting style players, their styles are quite different.

Yi Zheng and Ke Lao started studying Li Zongrui's game records a few days ago. Ke Lao's assessment was that Li Zongrui's game was strong in force but weak in softness.

Simply put, he is extremely tough and powerful. Sometimes, once you are suppressed by him, it is easy to lose all your strength.

However, they are still lacking in the details, which is also where the opponent is most likely to turn the tide.

Ke Lao commented that this was the type of player he liked the most, because Ke Lao's playing style made it easy for him to manipulate such players, and one of his good friends had this style.

Everyone was having a great time chatting with acquaintances, except for the only Silla player who made it to the finals, who wasn't particularly happy.

He was completely isolated because of a chat between eight Chinese players and one Malaysian player.

After glancing at the approaching match time, Yi Zheng finished his ginger cola and threw it into the trash can before walking into the competition venue with the others.

(End of this chapter)