UBE, Japan (Kyodo) -- Shogi prodigy Sota Fujii won the prestigious Ryuo championship Saturday with a four-game sweep of Masayuki Toyoshima, making him, at 19 years and three months, the youngest player in history to hold four major titles.
Fujii, who entered the best-of-seven series as the challenger to the 31-year-old Toyoshima in early October, earned the winning prize of 44 million yen ($386,000), the highest among the traditional board game's eight major titles
Fujii broke the previous youngest record set by Yoshiharu Habu, who held four major titles in 1993 at 22 years and nine months before sweeping the seven majors that existed in 1996.
Game 4 of the Ryuo series was played over two days in Ube, Yamaguchi Prefecture. The three other titles Fujii owns are Kisei, Oi and Eio.
Fujii has broken numerous youngest records, turning pro at 14 years and two months and capturing his first major title, Kisei, in July 2020 at 17 years and 11 months.
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