Ke Jie edges South Korea's Ahn to win World Go Masters title

China's Ke Jie beat crowd favorite Ahn Kuk-yun 2-1 in the World Go Masters finals in Goyang, South Korea.

It is the Zhejiang native's third time claiming the first place at this event, and sixth time winning a competition recognized as a "world title," in the board game called "WeiQi" in Mandarin.

Ke Jie (Right) plays with South Korean Ahn Kuk-yun at the final of Samsung Cup World Open Baduk Championship in Goyang on Dec 5, 2018. [Photo: IC]

After losing the opener in the best-of-three final, Ke pulled level at 1-1 in the second contest. In the decider, the Chinese board gamer played the white pieces.

Ahn launched a fierce attack at the beginning, leaving AlphaGo's archrival on the back foot. The South Korean dominated for a while, but his move to grab every possible advantage backfired, as Ke soon stormed back, turned the table, and finally sealed an impressive victory.

The 21-year-old's sixth recognized "world title" also makes him the youngest Go player with six crowns.

"I feel very excited, and winning this event is an occasion truly deserving of many celebrations. I am thrilled every time I win a world title, but none more than this time. I also want to express my thanks for the competition system at this event, which ensured that I would still have an opportunity to claim the title, even though I lost the openers in the group stage, semifinals, and final," said Ke after the match.