Othello news

Asia Pacific Othello Championship (APOC) 2023

25 June 2023
Written by Ivan Chan

Asia Pacific Othello Championship (APOC) 2023 has successfully concluded on June 25. There was a total of 114 players participating in the APOC, and by nation it breaks down like this : Mongolia 85, China 10, Japan 9, Korea 5, Singapore 2, and 1 player each for Australia, Indonesia and Thailand.

Out of the 114 players, 42 were female, which was more than a third. But what's even more impressive was the number of "youth division" players, a whopping 63 players were under 16! And 58 of them were Mongolian kids (almost 70% of the Mongolia "team"). That's where Mongolia really does a great job on youth development of Othello, and that’s also something we should all learn from!

Kento Urano won the APOC (Open Division) and he was also undefeated throughout the preliminary rounds. Amazing effort and congratulation to Urano san.

We would like to say a big ‘thank you’ to the Mongolian Othello Federation, under the leadership of Erdenebaatar Genden, for the successful organisation of the inaugural Asia Pacific Othello Championship (APOC) 2023. Most (probably all) international players, including myself, visited Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia for the very first time in our lives, and the MOF provided us with the greatest tournament experience and hospitality. MOF has proved that they have the confidence, skills, and expertise to run a big Othello tournament and we won’t be surprised to see them run more big international tournaments in the future.

Attached are some photos taken in the tournament, you may also find more relevant information from the following websites: apoc.worldothello.org & www.facebook.com/mongolianothello

Thanks for reading and happy flipping.