The dramatic showdown between the best players of Europe has concluded. Congratulations to Ali Jabarin 2p, the winner of the 1st Hochhaus Herrengasse Cup!
In the first round, European champion Pavol Lisy 2p faced Mateusz Surma 1p in a game full of twists and turns, no doubt owing partly to temporal constraints, which ended favourably for the former. The severity of the time limits is also evidenced by the observation that five-times champion Ilya Shikshin 2p lost to Ali on time.
Ali then defeated Pavol in the final round by capturing a good portion of the latter's stones and living inside the moyo that Pavol had gotten in return and gambled on. Meanwhile, Mateusz had to surrender to Ilya after a failed attack that resulted in his own group dying.
The games were broadcast on KGS and can be retrieved from the accounts Hochhaus1 and Hochhaus2.
If you don't speak German and haven't found the motivation to look up what "Hochhaus" means, it translates to "high-riser building". Indeed, Hochhaus Herrengasse is the tallest building in Vienna's historical city centre. According to its Wikipedia entry, it has been inhabited by several celebrities that each have their own Wikipedia pages. The amazing view from the top of the building is documented in the pictures from the prize giving ceremony.
The sponsors have announced that Hochhaus Herrengasse Cup shall become an annual event. While the tournament format of future editions is not decided yet (it might be expanded to accommodate a larger number of players or even an open tournament), the winner Ali will be invited again next year. Depending on the format, Hochhaus Herrengasse Cup may very well become the first European title tournament!
This year, however, the main event was the opening of the completed AlphaGo monument. Some impressions:
The organisers also provided some pictures from the construction of the monument:
The opening of the AlphaGo sculpture and the presence of Europe's best players attracted several media outlets. Reports that can be linked to will be collected here:
W24 news Herrengasse: Von der Begegnungs- zur Spielzone
Bonus pictures: