After watching the championship slip away in Sunday's second game, air traffic control specialist Qiyou Wu 7d finally cleared the final approach on
Monday, defeating Michael Xu 5d by 5.5 points to become the North American Go Federation's 11th professional player.
“Go has taught me that improvement comes from patience and perseverance," Wu told the EJ. "I’m just happy that all those years of enjoying the game led to this moment. Becoming a professional is something I’ve worked toward for many years, so it’s a very meaningful accomplishment. At the same time, I see 
it as the start of a new chapter. I’m looking forward to representing North America internationally and continuing to improve against the strongest players in the world.
I also hope my journey shows that dedication and perseverance matter. Even without the same access to professional teachers or resources, it’s still possible to make steady progress through hard work and a genuine love for the game.
The tournament was challenging and I was fortunate to come out on top. I tried to take it one game and one move at time, trusting that my overall judgement and fundamentals can win me any game."
Wu rebounded from Sunday's heartbreaking half-point loss by taking an early lead in the deciding game—one Xu, despite a determined effort, was never able to overcome.
Introduced to the game by his father, the 30-year-old Toronto resident has played on and off for about 15 years and delights in discovering brilliant tesujis that emerge from hidden aji in seemingly unrelated parts of the board. When he's not playing Go, Wu enjoys badminton, chess, watching Person of Interest, and admits that almost anything fried ranks among his favorite foods.
Xu's runner-up finish capped a remarkable tournament for the 13-year-old Canadian. His path to the championship game was decided by a combined margin of just three points: a half-point victory in his first semifinal, a 1½-point win in the second, and another half-point victory to force the decisive third game. As many observers noted, Xu is at the forefront of an impressive generation of young players poised to compete at the highest levels of North American Go.
TelegraphGo provided live commentary on the championship match. Complete American Go E-Journal coverage of the 2026 ProQual—including game records, videos, and reports—is available here.
Making the 2026 ProQual Possible
The 2026 NAGF ProQual was a success thanks to the efforts of players, volunteers, commentators, and organizers who made five days of competition—and nearly continuous livestream coverage—possible.
Our thanks first go to the competitors who traveled to Seattle to battle for North America's newest professional title: Alan Huang 7d, Qiyou Wu 7d, Eric Lee 6d, Jasper Liu 6d, Evan Tan 6d, Eric Yoder 6d, Jeremiah Donley 5d, Ethan Whitman 5d, Michael Xu 5d, and Val Lewis 4d. Read more about them in Meet the 2026 ProQual Competitors: The Next Wave and Meet the 2026 ProQual Competitors: Chasing the Professional Dream.
Special thanks to Tournament Director Chris Kirschner, Seattle Go Center Program Manager Kyle Burg, and Bill Chiles, whose behind-the-scenes work kept the event running smoothly throughout the week.
A dedicated team of volunteer game recorders made it possible to share the games with players around the world: Andrew Jackson, Bill Chiles, Frank Brown, Heath Henning, Jonathan Chen, Jae Donley, Lusha Zhou, Michael Thomas, Panya Cogburn, Rainer Romatka, and Weiyl Zhu. Heath Henning and Alex Weavers also pitched in to capture video from the tournament room.
The commentary team featured Michael Fodera 5d, Joel Kenny 5d with Laura Wu 4k, Nate Morse 6d of TelegraphGo, and Josh Allen 5d of Dwyrin/BattsGo.
The American Go E-Journal production team was led by Chris Garlock, who coordinated the livestreams and hosted most of the broadcasts. Daniel Lambert once again elevated the production with his outstanding broadcast design while handling countless behind-the-scenes technical improvements and hosting one of the game commentaries. Todd Heidenreich maintained the Leago tournament page and prepared and posted the game records.
Congratulations to Qiyou Wu on joining the ranks of North American professionals, and thanks to everyone whose efforts made this year's ProQual a memorable event on and off the board.