The Samsung Cup is a Go competition.

Outline

The Samsung Cup is an international competition. The Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance of Korea (which is a branch of the Samsung Group

Samsung Group

The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...

) and Hanguk Kiwon host the competition. The format starts with a preliminary tournament in which even amateur players are allowed to play. After the preliminaries, 16 players who advance plus the last four players of the previous year make up the main event. The semi-finals have a best-of-3 format, while the final has a best-of-3 match.

The latest edition starts off with the preliminaries, and then it is followed by splitting the players into 8 groups, with 4 players in each. There are three rounds, which are used to determine the 16 players that will be in the main tournament. The players must win two of their matches in order to advance to the round of 16. If there is someone with one win and one loss, they will play each other to see who can gain the second win. Obviously the people with two losses, whether they have a win or not, will be eliminated from the tournament.

Past winners and runners-up

Year	Nat.	Winner	Score	Nat.	Runner-up
1996	Japan	Yoda Norimoto	2–1	South Korea	Yoo Changhyuk Yoo Changhyuk Yoo Changhyuk is a professional Go player in South Korea.- Biography :Yoo Changhyuk was one of Korea's best Go players. Growing up without a teacher, Yoo became a professional in 1984 and was promoted to 9 dan in 1996...
1997	South Korea	Lee Chang-ho Lee Chang-ho Lee Chang-ho is a South Korean professional Go player of 9-dan rank. He is regarded by many as one of the strongest modern Go players. He was a student of Cho Hunhyun 9-dan. He is the only player to have won all eight international competitions at least once.-Biography:He turned professional in...	3–0	Japan	Kobayashi Satoru
1998	South Korea	Lee Chang-ho	3–2	Mainland China	Ma Xiaochun Ma Xiaochun Ma Xiaochun is a Chinese professional Go player.- Biography :Ma was born in Zhejiang, China. He began playing Go at the age of nine and was awarded 7 dan rank in 1982. In 1983, Ma was promoted to 9 dan. He visited Japan in 1982 and later won the World Amateur Go Championship in 1983...
1999	South Korea	Lee Chang-ho	3–0	Japan	Cho Sonjin Cho Sonjin Cho Sonjin is a professional Go player.Cho spent 12 years in South Korea before deciding to leave and become a professional in Japan, accomplishing his goal two years later. He was promoted to 9 dan in 1998. In 1999, he defeated Cho Chikun in the Honinbo, ending Chikun's 10 year run with the...
2000	South Korea	Yoo Changhyuk	3–1	Japan	Yamada Kimio
2001	South Korea	Cho Hunhyun Cho Hunhyun Cho Hunhyun is a Korean 9-dan professional Go player. Considered one of the greatest players of all-time, Cho reached professional level in Korea in 1962. Since then, Cho has amassed 150 professional titles, more than any player in the world. He once held all nine Korea titles simultaneously in 1980...	2–1	Mainland China	Chang Hao Chang Hao Chang Hao is a professional Go player. He is a 9 dan Go player from China. He is China's best player of the 1990s and one of the best in the world. Growing up he was a prodigy in China. He has won many titles, two of them international titles. He is best friends with Lee Chang-ho, whom he most...
2002	South Korea	Cho Hunhyun	2–0	Mainland China	Wang Lei
2003	Japan	Cho Chikun Cho Chikun Cho Chihun 25th Honinbo Honorary Meijin is a professional Go player. His total title tally of 71 titles is the most in the history of the Japanese Nihon Ki-in. Cho is the only player to hold the top three titles—Kisei, Meijin, and Honinbo—simultaneously which he did for 3 years in a row...	2–1	South Korea	Pak Yeong-hun
2004	South Korea	Lee Sedol Lee Sedol Lee Sedol is a South Korean professional Go player of 9-dan rank.-Biography:Many regard Lee Sedol as one of the strongest players of all time. Lee was born in Korea in 1983 and studied at the Hanguk Kiwon. He ranks third in career titles with 37, behind Cho Hunhyun and Lee Chang-ho...	2–0	Mainland China	Wang Xi Wang Xi Wang Xi is a professional Go player.-Biography:Wang was born in Kaifeng, Henan. He began playing Go at the very young age of 4. He was already enrolling in teams with professionals when he was only 8. In 1997, at the age of 13, Wang became a professional at the Zhongguo Qiyuan. The same year he...
2005	Mainland China	Luo Xihe Luo Xihe Luo Xihe is a Chinese professional Go player.- Biography :Luo Xihe started learning Go at the age of six. He turned pro in 1989, and was promoted to 9 dan in 2002.- Titles & runners-up :- External links :*...	2–1	South Korea	Lee Chang-ho
2006	Mainland China	Chang Hao	2–0	South Korea	Lee Chang-ho
2007	South Korea	Lee Sedol	2–1	South Korea	Pak Yeong-hun
2008	South Korea	Lee Sedol	2–0	Mainland China	Kong Jie Kong Jie Kong Jie is a Chinese professional Go player.- Biography :Kong Jie turned professional in 1994 at the age of 12. He was promoted to 7-dan after 8-years in 2001. In 2004 he was sent into the Teda Cup as China's representative against Lee Chang-ho and Yoda Norimoto...
2009	Mainland China	Kong Jie	2–0	Mainland China	Qiu Jun Qiu Jun Qiu Jun is a Chinese professional Go player.- Biography :Jun started learning Go at the age of 6. He became a professional in 1994. Over the next 3 years, he gained 3 consecutive promotions. He was promoted to 7 dan in 2005 and then reached 8 dan in 2006...
2010	Mainland China	Gu Li Gu Li Gu Li is a Chinese professional Go player.- Biography :Gu Li is currently the #1 ranked Chinese player by the Zhongguo Qiyuan. He became a pro in 1994 when he was only 12. In 2006, he won the 10th LG Cup and became the youngest Chinese player to ever win a major international title; as a result,...	2–1	South Korea	Heo Yeong-ho