US and Canada national representatives Albert Yen and Manuel Velasco, and two U-15 players Evan Tan and Michael Xu all scored 1W-1L on Day 1 of the 20th Korea Prime Minster's Cup (KPMC) International Baduk Championship in Taebaek, S. Korea on November 10, 2025, but Yen rose to 7th-place among 52 elites after winning over Vietnamese and French players on Tuesday.
Yen (AGA 8D, middle) managed to balance medical school training, Go competition and organizing tournaments. With multiple appearances in international Go championships the Chicago student is probably making Wilmette Junior High and New Trier HS proud, though his neighborhood may be more known by the first Home Alone movie.
Live results can be found on the 20th KPMC Website
On Nov. 9, Go legend Lee Sedol 9P visited at KPMC. He is the only human who ever beat AlphaGo AI, and holds the 2nd-most major world titles (14).
Tan 6D from San Diego, Ca. won the 2nd-place in the 2025 Redmond Cup. He achieved 3W-4L in the N.A. Masters in Texas in July and 2W-2L in the NAGF Pro Qualification Tournament in DC in August.
"For 20 years, the competition has been a venue for globalization and international exchange of Baduk." commented by Keun-yool HA, president of Korea Baduk Federation.
After 4 of 7 rounds, Korea, China and Chinese Taipei remain perfect with 4-0. In this year's newly added U-15 division with 28 players, Macau and Chinese Taipei are undefeated after 4 of 6 rounds.
See all 80 world reps (HERE)
The 20th KPMC also features a Pair Go (rengo allowed) handicap tournament, and the Canadian team won the 2nd-place. The organizer has prepared beautiful, culture-rich awards for top performers.
Velasco from Montreal, and Xu from Toronto
Photo credit: Chosun Daily, r/baduk (redditt), Baduk.Club, KPMC