An opening media day was held ahead of the opening of the KB Kookmin Bank Baduk League.

Compared to last season, all eight teams showed strong confidence in winning ahead of the opening of the KB Kookmin Bank Baduk League, which had several changes.

2023-24 KB Kookmin Bank Baduk League Opening Media Day was held at the Eliena Hotel in Gangnam-gu, Seoul on the 19th.

On this day's media day, 8 teams including 'defending champion' Kixx, Wonik, Baduk Mecca Uijeongbu, Korea Price Information, Suryehan Hapcheon, Jeonggwan Jang Cheonnok, Ulsan Korea Zinc, and Mahan's Heart Yeongam. The coach and two player representatives each attended.

Kicks, who won the championship last season, protected all five starting players, including 9th dan Shin Jin-seo, ranked first in the country, and laid the foundation for their second consecutive championship.

Kicks coach Kim Young-hwan, who coached the same team for two consecutive years, expressed confidence, saying, “Remembering the performance of the players at the end of last season, a second consecutive loss is quite possible.”

Kicks' captain Shin Jin-seo, 9th dan, also expressed his desire to win for the second time in a row. Shin Jin-seo, 9th Dan, had an overwhelming winning percentage of 20 wins and 2 losses in the regular league last season, and also recorded eight wins in all of his postseason games, leading the Kicks to the championship and being selected as the Most Valuable Player (MVP).

Shin 9th Dan said, “We will challenge for the championship this time because we have a good coach and a good team of players,” and “We will aim for the tournament MVP once again.”

Last season's runner-up team Jeonggwan Jangcheonnok, which is mentioned as a strong opponent for Kicks, also maintained its power by protecting 9th dan Byeon Sang-il, 9th dan Hong Seong-ji, and 9th dan Kim Jeong-hyun with the 1st to 3rd nominations. Coach Choi Myung-hoon said, “I am confident because we have a strong 9-dan Byeon Sang-il in the ace match. “I expect even better results than last season,” he said, aiming for victory this time.

9th Dan Park Jeong-hwan, who joined Wonik this season, also said, “There are good players, so I just have to do well. “It’s been a long time since I won the Baduk League, so I’m greedy,” he said.

The Baduk League, which introduced the Ace Match and Fisher method last season, made another change ahead of this season. The regular season, which was conducted in two major leagues last season, was integrated into a single league. In addition, a foreign player system was introduced for the first time in history.

This change is expected to play a role as a variable in the Baduk League this season.

Director Park Sang-sang of Korea Price Information, who was the fastest to recruit foreign players among the eight teams, said, “I brought in Tang Yufei 9th Dan (China), whom I had been close with, and was the first to recruit foreign players.” “Dangwipay 9th Dan also readily accepted our request. “I’m looking forward to it because they are strong at shorthand,” he said, adding that he would challenge for the championship with foreign players at the forefront.

Ulsan Korea Zinc's captain Shin Min-jun, 9th dan, expressed confidence, saying, “Because our team has the youngest average age, we will be strong in the Baduk league, which requires quick play.”

The 2023-24 KB Kookmin Bank Baduk League, sponsored by KB Kookmin Bank as the title, will begin its five-month journey starting with the opening match between Korea Price Information and Sooryehan Hapcheon on the 28th.

The winner's prize is 250 million won, and the runner-up will receive a prize of 100 million won. Separate from the group prize money, a match fee of 14 million won was set for the regular league winning team and 7 million won for the losing team. 19가이드03