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🇵🇱 Mateusz Surma 4p (European Champion 2025)
🇺🇦 Andrii Kravets 3p (European Pro Champion 2025)
Ali Jabarin 3p*
🇵🇱 Stanisław Frejlak 2p
🇫🇷 Benjamin Dréan-Guénaïzia 1p
🇫🇷 Tanguy Le Calvé 1p
🇦🇹 Ting Li 1p (Women's European Champion 2025)
🇨🇿 Jan Simara 1p
*Due to the war in the Middle-East, Ali was exceptionally playing online
The event was generously sponsored by the Tsinghua Weiqi Foundation and organized by the EGF and Romanian Go Federation.
After long days of suspenseful games, the 2026 Champion is 🇺🇦 Andrii Kravets 3p, undefeated! Andrii successfully defended his title, as he was already the 2025 Champion!
Congratulations!
(Read his impressions from the tournament here)
🇵🇱 Mateusz Surma 4p is the runner-up, scoring 6/7
🇫🇷 Benjamin Dréan-Guénaïzia 1p completes the podium with 5/7 wins, a very nice result for his very first pro championship, as Benjamin became a pro in 2025.
The top 3 of the Championship - Andrii, Mateusz and Benjamin, now qualify to play in the Tsinghua University - European Team in the Chinese League C.
This is a prestigious team tournament played in China, usually with many very strong opponents, and so a very good opportunity to get more experience against strong professionals and to showcase their skills.
The event was very intense, with two long games per day and a lot at stake, and sometimes, even cruel fights and upsets.
In the 3rd round, when things started to become critical to define the future winner, a double national pain took place, with the Polish pair Mateusz and Stanislaw playtng together while the French pair Tanguy and Benjamin were also trying to beat each other.
These games were extremely intense and amazing to follow for the audience. You can check by replaying them yourself.
In the polish game, it's like fuseki just didn't even exist. The whole thing shaped into a massive and complicated mess with incredibly efficient empty triangles and dubious wedges, a masterclass of reading and fighting. Mateusz somehow managed to entirely turn the tables on his opponent at a stage when it looked like his stones would simply die, but Stanislaw's stones died instead. If go games were blockbuster movies, then that one would definitely reach the top places and earn its litte place in history.
In the other game, Tanguy had taken the advantage and was leading the game into a peaceful yose ending by just a small margin. But, full of ressources, Benjamin managed a nasty trick in a corner which instantly eradicated the gap. The game suddenly became extra close and oozed stress right up up to the last move...
Another very dramatic game was played in the second round between the two favourites, Andrii Kravets and Mateusz Surma. Mateusz had taken a wonderful lead and suddenly misplayed a tsumego, thus offering a reverse big lead to Andrii. eventually, catching up turned out to be impossible this time.
Well done to all the players, and also to the organizers - the Romanian Go Federation showed amazing hospitality and had prepared a high quality event!
All the participants were awarded a painting by the local artist and Go player Elena Otilia!
All the games were broadcast, and live reviewed on Twitch.
As a big weekend tournament was taking place in parallel, the Polytrade Grand Prix, Catalin Taranu 5p gave a commentary of some top games of the championship to the participants.
Next year, the European Pro Championship shall happen in Vienna in the first half of 2027.
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You can find all the games and detailed results on the dedicated page of the championship.
The games reviewed by Lucas Neirynck 6d and Valerii Krushelnytskyi 7d are on the EGF Twitch channel - thanks to these commentators! The replay is available for 3 months.
You can also read a very small interview post-tournament with Andrii here.
Thanks to all the organizers, commentators and participants for this great event. Thanks to Damir Medak and the Romanian Federation for the photos and updates along the tournament!
