Iyama Yuta (9th dan) defeats Yang Kai-wen (9th dan) to conclude the 9th round of the ”Nongshim Shin Ramen Cup World Go Championship”

On the 25th, at the Nongshim Hotel in Busan, South Korea, in the 9th match of the 27th Nongshim Shin Ramen Cup World Go Championship, Yuta Iyama (9th dan) played against Yang Kaiwen (9th dan) of China.
With this result, for the first time in a while, Japan, Korea, and China were left with just two players each, and the match was evenly matched going into the third round.
In the early stages, the situation was tense, but the battle for ko on the lower side of the table suddenly shifted to Iyama Yuta 9-dan.
Yuta 9-dan responded with accurate reading, but the gap widened to about 10 points without narrowing the gap, and Yang Kaiwen 9-dan resigned. Immediately after the game ended, Iyama Yuta 9-dan said, "The opening was difficult, but the middle game was a good battle for the ko.
"I thought I had a chance to win after that," he said. "There are some really tough players in Korea and China, so it will be a tough battle, but I will do my best to prepare well and make it an interesting match."
With Japan winning the final game of the second round, 9th Dan players Ryo Ichiriki and Yuta Iyama advanced from Japan, leaving Japan, South Korea, and China with two players each.
It was the first time in five years since the 22nd tournament that the three countries were evenly matched until the ninth round. Meanwhile, the third round will resume in China on February 2, 2026. South Korea's fourth player, Park Ting-hwan, 9th dan,
He will be competing against Iyama Yuta 9-dan. The 27th Nongshim Shin Ramen Cup World Go Championship, sponsored by Nongshim and hosted by the Korea Go Association, has a prize of 500 million won.
A prize of 10 million won will be awarded for consecutive wins, and 10 million won will be awarded for each additional win. Each player has one hour of time, with one one-minute countdown.