The third round of the 25th Nongshim Cup championship, a world team competition between Go players from China, Japan and South Korea, kicked off on Feb 19 in Shanghai.

South Korean player Shin Jin-seo defeated Japanese Iyama Yuta in the first match of the round, achieving his second consecutive win and also ending the journey of the Japanese team at the event.

Shin will then face a strong Chinese line-up including Zhao Chenyu, Ding Hao, Gu Zihao and Ke Jie.

Previously, Chinese player Xie Erhao made seven consecutive wins before losing to Shin, giving a great advantage to the Chinese team.

"It is true that the Chinese team now has an advantage in the number of players, but there are also situations where a team with fewer players wins or one player ultimately turns the situation around. We will take it seriously," said Chang Hao, president of the Chinese Weiqi Association.

The first and second rounds of this year's event were held in Beijing and Busan, South Korea, respectively.

In the past 24 editions, the South Korean team has won 15 championships, the Chinese team has won eight and the Japanese team has won one.