The 54th Prague Go Tournament 

The dust has settled on another epic edition of the Prague Go Tournament – Old Hunter's Cup, and what a weekend it was. 158 players from 21 countries descended on Hotel Olympik, making this once again one of the biggest go tournaments in Europe, right alongside Paris.

And the winner is…

Ukrainian professional Andrii Kravets (3p) got 5/6 alongside to other two players but he got best criteria. He was chased all the way by Wu Xi (6d, UK) in second and Valerii Krushelnytskyi (7d, Ukraine) in third – both also on five wins. The best Czech player on the day was Lukas Podpera (7d), finishing a solid 8th, shared with Ali Jabarin 3p and Arved Pittner 6d (Germany).

As the Prague Go Tournament was a Bonus B event of the Grand Prix Circuit 2026, the best 6 Europeans could get qualification seats and points for the Grand Prix Finale (January 2027).

A star-studded opening ceremony

This year's closing ceremony was something a little special on the guest front. The Korean Embassy was represented by Secretary Ms. Seok SunYong, attending on behalf of the Ambassador, and also on behalf of Sungwoo Hitech. The distillery was represented in style by both its owner RNDr. Milan Hagan and its director Boris Rajdl – who made sure to arrive by 4 PM for the VIP arrivals. And then there were the two headline guests: actress Dana Morávková and mathematician Karel Janeček, who both brought some lovely extra attention to the world of go. Japanese professional Kikkawa Hajime (4p) rounded out an impressive lineup, having also delighted players with simultaneous games during the weekend.

New look, same great feel

One of the talking points this year was the new seating arrangement. For the first time, all players shared a single room, split into three sections. The top section – the first 20 boards – had its own dedicated table, giving the highest-level games the atmosphere they deserved. Boards 1–4 were hand-recorded and streamed live on OGS, while board 5 and the closing ceremony were broadcast live on YouTube.

Oh, and the free tea was back. As always. Because some traditions are sacred.

Follow the action – with one small caveat

For those who couldn't make it to Prague in person, the EGF Twitch channel had you covered, with live commentary throughout the tournament by Mateusz Surma (4p). His commentary was, as ever, insightful and entertaining – but there is one thing worth flagging if you're planning to go back and rewatch the final game. Due to a mix-up during the broadcast, the colors of the two players were accidentally swapped on screen. So if you're rewatching and something feels a little off – it's not you. Ali Jabarin was playing white. Keep that in mind and the commentary makes perfect sense!

The prize fund

The prize pot exceeded 10,000 euros, with the two main sponsors once again deserving a big thank you: Palírna U Zeleného stromu, the distillery behind the tournament's official drink, owned by go player Milan Hagan, and Michal Kovařík of Wube, the company behind the hugely successful game Factorio. On top of that, Vladimír Daněk personally added 100 euros to each of the top 10 prizes – a generous touch that did not go unnoticed.

See you next year

By all accounts, players went home happy – with the new room layout in particular getting a lot of praise. If you missed it this year, well, you know what to do. We'll see you at the 55th edition!

 

Full results are available on the EGD.
More beautiful photos can be found here.

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[EGF note: Huge thanks to the organising team for the event and nice report!]