The Merriden Open
One of the few tournaments anywhere that puts three separate populations of player into the same bracket: men aged 45 and over, every professional woman on the Korean roster, and amateurs who qualify through an open selection. Founded in 2025 by the Korea Baduk Association under the title sponsorship of The Merriden, a wedding-hall company, with backing from Blitz Investment chairman Kim Sungman, it runs 32 players through single elimination to a best-of-three final. The first was won by Oh Yujin over Mok Jinseok, which is exactly the sort of result the format was built to produce.
Country Korea
Type Open
Format Knockout
Cycle 1y
Komi 6.5
Editions 1
2026 · Edition #2
Final, Game 2/3
1 game
Final, Game 1/3
1 game
Semifinal
2 games
Quarterfinal
4 games
Round of 16
8 games
Sep 23
Kim Min-seo
B+R
Mok Jinseok
Sep 23
Kim Ch'ae-yeong
W+R
Kim Seungjin
Sep 24
Cho Sang-yeon (2)
B+R
Nakamura Sumire
Sep 24
Cheong Chun-u
W+R
Heo Seohyun
Oct 7
Choi Myunghoon
W+R
Kim Eun-chi
Oct 7
Choi Jeong
B+4.5
Kim Donghan
Oct 8
O Yu-chin
W+R
Han Chong-chin
Oct 8
Song Minhyeok
W+R
Im Gyeongho (am)
Round of 32
16 games
Sep 14
Im Gyeongho (am)
B+2.5
Kim Kyeongeun
Sep 14
Song Minhyeok
B+R
Lee Changho
Sep 14
Cho Seungah
W+R
Nakamura Sumire
Sep 15
Choi Jeong
B+2.5
Kang Jaewoo
Sep 15
Choi Myunghoon
B+R
Lee Hwaseop (am)
Sep 15
Yi Ta-hye
W+R
Kim Min-seo
Sep 16
Kim Donghan
B+R
Ch'oe Seo-pi
Sep 16
Kang Gyeong-hyeon
W+R
Han Chong-chin
Sep 16
Heo Seohyun
B+0.5
Ki Min-chan
Sep 16
Shin Hyeonseok (am)
W+R
Kim Ch'ae-yeong
Sep 16
Kim Seungjin
B+1.5
Seo Bongsoo
Sep 17
Baek Unki
W+2.5
Cho Sang-yeon (2)
Sep 17
Kim Su-chang
W+R
Mok Jinseok
Sep 17
Kim Yeong-sam
W+R
Cheong Chun-u
Sep 18
Kim Eun-chi
B+6.5
Yoo Changhyuk
Sep 18
Yi Cheong-u
W+R
O Yu-chin
Preliminary
3 games