HOUSTON, TX — It was a full-board battle weekend at Dragon’s Lair North Houston as 32 players
ranging from 30-kyu beginners to 6-dan powerhouses faced off in the annual Houston Go Club Fall Tournament, held November 8–9.
After six hard-fought rounds, the championship came down to a dead heat. Top-ranked contenders Bowei Xu (6d) and Juanshu Lan (6d) finished with matching records and agreed to split the $300 high-dan purse, a fitting result for two evenly matched rivals.
In the mid-dan division, Peilung Peng (2d) emerged victorious, claiming the $150 low-dan prize with steady play and clutch wins in the final rounds.
The kyu divisions delivered their own drama:
Kuanfu “Paul” Tung (8k) captured the single-digit kyu title, earning a glass championship trophy.
Ian Johnson (14k) topped the lower bracket to take home the double-digit kyu trophy, proving that consistency wins even in the longest tournaments.
Tournament director Salik Abbasi kept the six-round event running smoothly across both days.
photos: (top) at the tournament venue; (bottom) (top left): Salik Abbasi, Bowei Xu 6d, Michael Bloom and Juanshu Lan 6d; (top right) Ian Johnson 14k; (bottom right) Peilung Peng 2D; (bottom left) Kuanfu “Paul” Tung 8k. 📸 Full photo gallery