History of the Event
In 2004, Chin Sin Voon of Brunei and Christopher Vu from the United States met at the inaugural Iwamoto Amateur Online Championships, held by the Chilean Go Association. Competing in the same division, they faced each other in the eight and final round to determine who would win a medal and who would have to wait another year.. The end result? A friendship that would spur their respective national go clubs to join forces.
Five years later, to celebrate their friendship, the American Go Honor Society and the Burnei I-Go Society established the “Brunei Friendship Cup” in remembrance of all that the two founders went through to establish their respective clubs.
The United States squeaked out a narrow victory in the 1st edition.
Now Southeast Asia wants revenge. They’re coming to our home turf, let’s defend!
CALL TO ARMS FOR THE SECOND ANNUAL BRUNEI FRIENDSHIP CUP
This competition is open to all go players who reside in the United States, Canada, Chile, and Argentina, or hold citizenship to one of these countries. Individuals who are affiliated with a high school or undergraduate university, such as professor, advisors, teachers, administrators, et cetera are also welcome to try out for the competition.
Six members of Team USA have already been chosen through the National Team Tournament. However, there are still SIX more spots on the roster to be filled. What better way then through a qualifying event?
STAGE ONE - Open to everybody – will be held on June 12th OR 13th
All competitors interested in entering will be entered in STAGE ONE of the qualifying tournament. This will be a three-round event. Players who win TWO of their matches will advance to the next stage. Thus, if you win the first two rounds, then you will not have to play in the third round. Conversely, if you lose the first two rounds, the tournament staff will not pair you for the third round since you would not be able to make the final round. Each day will have three rounds, since some people cannot play matches on a Saturday or Sunday respectively.(Example: Joshua cannot play on June 12th due to a swim meet, so he can choose to play the three rounds held on the 13th. Amy cannot play on June 13th due to church, so she choose to play the three rounds held on the 12th.) When you submit your entry to the Qualifying Tournament, please remark which day you would like to play.
Tentative Schedule:
ROUND 1 10am PT / 11 am MT / 12pm CT / 1pm ET
ROUND 2 1pm PT / 2pm MT / 3pm CT / 4pm ET
ROUND 3 3pm PT / 4pm PT / 5pm CT / 6pm ET
(Special Note: If you earned a medal from the National Team Tournament in the JV, Intermediate, Novice, or Beginner Divisions, you will be given “one free win” in the first round to congratulate you on your phenomenal performance. Thus, you would only need to win one more match to advance to stage two.)
STAGE TWO - Open to certain candidates – held on June 26th OR 27th
All eligible contestants will meet in STAGE TWO of the qualifying tournament. This will be a four-round event, held in a single-elimination format. At the end of the event, there will be SIX individuals who remain undefeated. They will earn the right to represent the United States in the 2nd Annual Brunei Friendship Cup. The tournament directors will also name alternates to the event, should the main competitors not be able to fulfill their duties in the main event. The tournament will be split into two days just like Stage One.
Tentative Schedule
ROUND 1 9am PT / 10 am MT / 11am CT / 12pm ET
ROUND 2 11am PT / 12pm MT / 1pm CT / 2pm ET
ROUND 3 3pm PT / 4pm PT / 5pm CT / 6pm ET
ROUND 4 5pm PT / 6pm PT / 7pm CT / 8pm ET
(Special Note: If you earned a medal from the National Team Tournament in the Open or Varsity divisions, you will be given “two free wins” in the first round to congratulate you on your phenomenal performance. This pretty much means you will be given a free pass to stage two and not have to compete in the first stage.)
MAIN EVENT - To be held on July 2nd and 3rd
There will be two American teams of six competitors each. Brunei will send a third team. In each round, five players on each side will play in team format. The team who wins a majority of the boards will be champion for that round. This stage will be conducted in a round-robin format, and the team who holds the most wins will be crowned champion.
USA TIME SE ASIA TIME
ROUND 1 9th April 5pm PT/8pm ET 10th April 9am
ROUND 2 10th April 12pm PT / 3pm ET* 10th April 5pm*
ROUND 3 10th April 5pm PT / 8pm ET 11th April 9am
* Note: These two times are not the same. This match will be US1 vs. US2 and BRU vs. MAS, to account for time zone difference and to be plaed at a time that is sutiable for everyone.
GAME FORMAT
Stage One Main Time 30 minutes, Extension 4 periods of 30 seconds
Stage Two Main Time 45 minutes, Extension 5 periods of 30 seconds
All games are even, komi = 7.5 points, players will flip for sides. Preliminaries will be held in the American Go Honor Society room on the KGS go server.
Tournament Directors
United States Qualifying Event: Ashley Wilson and David Vu 2-dan LS
Southeast Asia Qualifying Event: Chin Sin Voon 3-dan LS
Main Tournament Christopher Vu 5-dan LS and Chin 3-dan LS
Questions? Want to register? Contact us at aghsregister@gmail.com
To register, please submit:
!) Full Name
2) Rank
3) School / Go Club (if you have none, just put AGHS)
4) KGS handle
5) E-mail address
6) Which day you want to compete for the first round (either June 12th or June 13th)
7) (optional) If you won a medal in the School Team Tournament, you have earned the right to be exempt from the first and/or second rounds of the preliminaries. Please mention if you would like to do so.