Shogi prodigy Sota Fujii won the last of the traditional board game's eight titles Wednesday, making him the first player ever to hold eight.
The 21-year-old Fujii took Game 4 in a Kyoto hotel to wrap up the best-of-five Oza series against Takuya Nagase, 31, completing the eight-title sweep without losing one series in 18 appearances since he made his championship debut as a challenger in June 2020 at age 17.
In today's world of shogi, where almost everyone uses artificial intelligence software to improve thinking skills, Fujii has a hard-to-believe .834 winning percentage, compared with .696 for Nagase, according to data provided by the Japan Shogi Association.
Game 4 started at 9 a.m. and ended at 8:59 p.m. when Nagase conceded. In the Oza series, each player is given a total of five hours of thinking time.
A public viewing event was held at a culture center in his home city of Seto, Aichi Prefecture. Shortly after Fujii's historic victory, extra editions of newspapers were handed out in front of Nagoya's main train station.
"It was a tough series," Fujii said. "I repeatedly found myself on the defensive midway through a match. That shows my weakness and Nagase-san's strength."
"Luckily, I turned out to be the winner. I've learned a lot from this series, and I'll continue to work hard to become a better player."
Fujii's every move has been followed by various media since his pro debut at age 14, including what he eats for lunch on a match day.
Nagase, who was bidding to win Oza for a fifth consecutive year to earn "honorary" status, took the series opener on Aug. 31 in Hadano, Kanagawa Prefecture.
But Fujii came roaring back to win Game 2 in Kobe on Sept. 12, Game 3 in Nagoya on Sept. 27 and then Game 4.
"I blew chances to win in both Game 3 and 4," Nagase said. "I wish I could win one of the games and take the series to a decisive Game 5. I did my best. I just wanted to play one more game."
Fujii and Nagase know each other well as they regularly practice together.
Before the era of eight titles began in 2017 with the addition of Eio, only three players swept all available titles -- three were held by Kozo Masuda, three, four and five by Yasuharu Oyama and seven by Yoshiharu Habu.
Habu won his seventh major title, Osho, in February 1996, when he was 25 years old.
Fujii matched Habu with his seventh, the prestigious Meijin title, on June 1, 2023 at age 20.
"I believe this is an unprecedented achievement that combines continuous effort, excellent sense, motivation, physical strength, and the luck of time," said Habu, now 53, head of the shogi association.
"I expect he'll continue to move forward and aim for even greater heights in shogi."
Fujii's record-breaking professional career began in 2016, when he became the youngest pro at 14 years and two months.
He then won his first 29 matches, eclipsing the previous longest winning streak of 28 attained in 1987 by Hiroshi Kamiya.
The native of Seto, Aichi Prefecture, claimed his first major title, Kisei, in July 2020, just three days before he turned 18.
Fujii topped the 2022 money list released by the shogi association for earnings from matches with 122 million yen ($820,000). Akira Watanabe was a distant second with 71 million yen.
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Sota Fujii becomes 2nd player in shogi history with 7 major titles
