Paek Hongsuk (백홍석, 白洪淅 born 13 August 1986) is a

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who is ...

Biography

Paek became a professional in August 2001. He was promoted to 5 dan in 2006.CyberOro profile
/ref> He won his first title, the SK Gas Cup, in 2006.GoGameWorld profile
/ref> Also in 2006, he reached the quarter finals of the Samsung Cup before losing to

Lee Chang-ho Lee Chang-ho ( ko, 이창호; born 29 July 1975 in Jeonju, North Jeolla) is a South Korean professional Go player of 9-dan rank. He is regarded by many as the best Go player of the late 1990s and early 2000s. He was a student of Cho Hun ...

.Samsung Cup
/ref> In 2012, Paek reached his first World Championship Final by entering the 4th

BC Card Cup World Baduk Championship BC Card Cup World Baduk Championship was an international Go competition sponsored by South Korea's BC Card. The precursor to this tournament was South Korea's BC Card Cup. The BC Card Cup World Baduk Championship was an annual competition, a ...

, having beaten many Strong Chinese players to remain as Korea's last participant. In doing so, he qualified for the 9-dan rank by reaching 2 continental finals, namely the Asian TV Cup and the BC Card Cup. It was a poor BC Card Cup World Championship for South Korea, as they had lost the 2 Lee's,

Lee Sedol Lee Sedol ( ko, 이세돌; born 2 March 1983), or Lee Se-dol, is a former South Korean professional Go player of 9 dan rank. As of February 2016, he ranked second in international titles (18), behind only Lee Chang-ho (21). He is the fi ...

and

as early as the round of 32, many other compatriots in the same round, and lost

Pak Yeong-hun Park Yeong-hun ( ko, 박영훈, born April 1, 1985), also known as Park Young-hoon and Pak Yeong-hoon, is a South Korean professional Go player. Biography Park Yeong-hun was born in Seoul. He is a professional Go player in the Hanguk Kiwon. He ...

in the Quarter Finals to eventual finalist Dang Yifei. Thus, Paek was forced to play through 3 rounds of Chinese professionals, beating Niu Yu-tian,

Zhou Ruiyang Zhou Ruiyang (; born March 8, 1991) is a Chinese professional Go player. Biography Zhou began playing Go at the age of 7. He won the biggest amateur tournament in China, the Wanbao Cup, both the same year before he became a professional. ...

and Hu Yaoyu respectively throughout the latter stages of the tournament for 3 consecutive wins en route to the final. He will play the Final against Dang Yifei on May 12, May 13, and again for 3 consecutive days from the 15th to the 17th, after getting a 1-day rest. After 4 days of play with 1 day of rest, Paek won his first World Championship by beating Dang Yifei 3-1, winning 3 consecutive games after falling behind 1-0. Two of the wins were with white (Games 2 and 4), one with black (Game 3). Game 4 was labelled by him as the "Luckiest and Most poorly played" game in the Final, where he was able to win a game by half a point with white in a game where he was leading throughout. After a couple exchange of mistakes, Paek began playing very passively and allowing his opponent to gain significant territory, even showing little participation in ko fights that Dang won rather comfortably. It eventually came down to one ko fight, and whilst Dang was able to win it, he was still forced to finish the ko, thus, losing one of his own points of territory and being the unfortunate loser of a half-point match.

Promotion record

Titles and runners-up

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paek, Hongsuk 1986 births Living people South Korean Go players