Fukuoka Team

The third team in the league is Fukuoka and this one has had an interesting draft. Of all the teams this was the only one to not protect their Captain (Xie Yimin now co-captain of Igo&Shogi Channel team) and instead has taken a very different approach to team build.

The new Captain was in team last year (with 2 wins and 4 losses so hardly better than Xie's result) and is the young 2nd Dan Yangagihara Saki. The coach likely sees a lot of potential.

The team then seemed to go after players from the previous years winning team (4 Dan Hoshiai Shiho with 5 wins and 4 losses and 2nd Dan Jo Bun'en 2 wins 4 losses) but it should be remembered this team came second in terms of pool wins. It is rounded out by a new player to the league 3 Dan Kibe Natsuki.

What I find interesting, and this may not be deliberate, is that the team coach seems to have taken a group of players with very differing play styles. With the possible exception of territorial. That means if (and it is a big if) they can toolkit the matches then they might be able to match strength to strength. Personally I think this team (and perhaps Nagoya) are wildcards in the league.