The third Lanke Cup Vienna Open took place on 20-21 June 2026 at the Confucius Institute premises on the Universitätscampus of the University of Vienna, bringing together 85 players from 18 countries for a weekend of high-level competition in the Austrian capital.

The tournament, included in the Grand Prix Circuit as a Level C event, attracted a remarkably international lineup, featuring eight players rated 2600+ and two European professionals: Ali Jabarin 3p and Benjamin Dréan-Guénaïzia 1p. Overall, 46 out of 85 players held ranks of 1 dan or higher.

The battle for first place remained open until the very last round!

Going into Sunday afternoon, several players were still in contention for the title, resulting in an exciting final round, and one of the strongest top groups seen in this year’s European tournament circuit.

After four rounds, Valerii Krushelnytskyi 7d stood alone at the top with a perfect 4-0 score. His pathway was made up of victories over Stjepan Medak 5d, Benjamin Dréan-Guénaïzia 1p, Ioan Elian Grigoriu 6d and Lukas Podpera 7d.

In the final round, he faced Kim Dohyup 8d of Korea, who had recovered from an early second-round loss to Ioan Elian Grigoriu 6d and entered the last round with a 3-1 score. Kim won the game, creating a four-way tie at the top of the standings.

Valerii Krushelnytskyi, Kim Dohyup, Ioan Elian Grigoriu and Benjamin Dréan-Guénaïzia 1p all finished with four wins and one loss. The final ranking was therefore decided by SOS tiebreak, with Valerii claiming the tournament title ahead of Kim by a margin of three SOS points.

Ioan Elian Grigoriu secured third place after an impressive tournament that included victories against Kim Dohyup and Stjepan Medak. French professional Benjamin Dréan-Guénaïzia 1p finished fourth, losing only to the eventual winner.

A brief look on the results and prizes

Final Top 8 Results:

1. Valerii Krushelnytskyi 7d (UA)
2. Kim Dohyup 8d (KR)
3. Ioan Elian Grigoriu 6d (RO)
4. Benjamin Dréan-Guénaïzia 1p (FR)
5. Lukas Podpera 7d (CZ)
6. Viktor Lin 6d (AT)
7. Bartik Dach 5d (CZ)
8. Stjepan Medak 5d (HR)

The prize for best female player went to Akira Fukushima Maekawa 5d (DE).

As part of the European Grand Prix, Valerii Krushelnytskyi - already qualified for the Grand Prix Finale from the Prague Open - earned 8 Bonus points for his victory, while Ioan Elian Grigoriu secured his qualification for the Grand Prix Finals with the direct seat and 6 points. Benjamin Dréan-Guénaïzia received 4 points, Lukas Podpera earned 2 points, Viktor Lin 1 point.

Among the Austrian players, Viktor Lin 6d achieved the best result, finishing sixth with three wins and only losses against eventual runner-up Kim Dohyup and fifth-place finisher Lukas Podpera. Numerous Go7 members also participated across all rating categories, from dan players to beginners, highlighting the club's active role in the Austrian Go community.

Youth Successes

One tradition of the Vienna Open is placing special emphasis on youth achievements, and this year the young players did not disappoint. In an exceptionally strong field, U18 players occupied three places in the overall Top 10: Bartik Dach (5d) finished 7th, Stjepan Medak (5d) 8th, and Yuze Xing (6d) 9th. Congratulations to these young European talents on an excellent performance.

In the U12 category, Lilly Hu claimed first place, followed by Szilard Mihaly Papp and Cherry Hu.

Behind the scenes...

The biggest challenge of the weekend was not on the board but outside: Vienna was hit by a heatwave, with temperatures reaching 34°C. A significant part of the organizational effort went into keeping the playing conditions comfortable, supplying large amounts of water, and making sure players could focus on their games despite the weather. Fortunately, apart from the heat, the tournament ran smoothly, without any major organizational or refereeing issues.

Five games from the top boards were broadcast live and can be replayed here. In addition, Andrii Kravets 3p provided live commentary for four exciting rounds on Twitch, allowing Go fans from around the world to follow the action.

The Vienna Open was also hard to miss for anyone visiting the University campus that weekend. Posters filled the campus grounds, ensuring that the many students and visitors relaxing on the lawns were at least a little curious about the black and white stones being fought over nearby.

A Collaborative International Effort

The event was organized by Go7 in cooperation with the Austrian Go Association and the Croatian Go Association. The European Go Federation provided official support through chief referee and EGF vice President Damir Medak, and EGF Vice President Li Ting, who participated in the opening ceremony. The Croatian Go Association contributed equipment, organizational support, and assisting referees.

The tournament was made possible through the generous support of the Confucius Institute at the University of Vienna, Lanke Quzhou, and the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Austria. The event formed part of the celebrations marking the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Austria. During the opening ceremony, participants were welcomed by Confucius Institute Director Padraig Lysaght and Embassy Counsellor Sun Qinhang.

A special guest of the tournament was professional player Zhao Baolong 3p, representing the Quzhou Ge Yuhong Weiqi Academy. He provided game reviews the entire weekend.

The tournament was directed by Mirta Medak, President of the Austrian Go Association, with organizational support from Anastasiya Tsyhanova and Jasna Medak. Together with numerous volunteers, sponsors, teachers, referees, and players, they helped create the largest and strongest Vienna Open to date.

For more details...

Special thanks go to the tournament director Mirta Medak and chief referee Damir Medak for sharing the insights from the tournament!

Records from broadcasted games can be found on Go Games Live.
Detailed tournament results can be found here.
Pictures from the tournament are available on this folder.