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American pros Liu, Lui Fight Bravely in Ing Cup

American professionals Andy Liu 1p and Eric Lui 1p fought bravely earlier this week in an unsuccessful attempt to make it through the first round of the 8th Ing Pro Cup in Shanghai. The two notched strong games but succumbed in the end to the legends they were paired against in the top drawer international tournament.  Both played well, according to Kim Myungwan 9p. Eric Lui built up a strong position but his opponent, Hane Naoki 9p, “was such an experienced player that he controlled the game, avoiding Eric’s provocation.”  Andy Liu, facing Lee Sedol 9p, actually started ahead.  “Andy was winning in the beginning, up until around fifty moves,” Kim said.  “I think that Lee Sedol was a little bit nervous because Andy started well. It’s not so surprising because Andy has played very well recently at pro tournaments. Andy later pursued territory too much which eventually backfired.”  Hane Naoki fell in the second round, but Lee Sedol made it through and plays Kang Dongyoon on Sunday in the Ing's third round.  Other third round match ups are Park Junghwan 9p v. Ke Jie 9p, Shi Yue 9p v. Chen Youye 9p, and Tang Weixing 9p v. Kim Jiseok 9p.  The winners will continue on to June finals in Tibet.  Meanwhile, over the weekend, Liu (left in photo at right) came to the end of his run in the Kansai Kiin’s Sankei Cup.  After four wins, perhaps the best pro tournament run a Western player has had in Asia, he came up short against Daisuke Murakawa 8p, a very strong opponent.  All three games available below. - report by Andy Okun and Ted Terpstra 2016.04.21_eric lui v hane naoki 2016.04.21_Andy Liu v murakawa 2016.04.21_andy liu v lee sedol