โ๏ธ Jan-Krzysztof Duda wins OSLO ESPORTS CUP ahead of Magnus and other top Grandmastersยถ
Polish no. 1 Jan-Krzysztof Duda is the winner of the Oslo Esports Cup after his last round victory over Eric Hansen which was proved sufficient to claim the title when Magnus Carlsen and R. Praggnanandhaa crashed to defeat in their last round. Both leaders before the last round, lost two games, with Magnus falling to Shakhriyar Mamedyarov while Anish Giri defeated young Indian star Praggnanandhaa. Liem Le could still have won the title ahead of Duda, but fell just short of the 3 points he needed when Jorden van Foreest defeated Liem Le in the tiebreaker of their last round.
Image Credits; Chess24
Three matches in the final round of the Oslo Esports Cup were decided
after minimum numbers of games that is three rapid games. While it was
not unexpected that Jan-Krzysztof Duda defeated a Canadian streamer and
Grandmaster Eric Hansen by a 2ยฝ-ยฝ score, the quick losses suffered by
coleaders Magnus Carlsen and Praggnanandhaa were rather shocking.
Duda and Le Quang Liem were trailing Carlsen and Praggnanandhaa by a single point before last round. In this tournament, victory in the 4-game rapid portion of the match granted 3 points to the winner, while a match decided in blitz tiebreakers granted 2 points to the winner and 1 point to the loser.
The eventual championโs crushing victory over Hansen gave him clear
victory, while Le also overtook Carlsen and Pragg, but only managed to
collect 2 points, as he defeated Jorden van Foreest in tiebreaks.
For Duda, this triumph will be a great confidence booster, as we are
less than two months away from the start of the Candidates Tournament in
Madrid, Spain. The Polish star, grandmaster Duda will be one of eight
players fighting for the spot to challenge Magnus Carlsen in the next
World Championship match โ if the Norwegian decides to defend his
crown.
| Final Standings | |
|---|---|
| 1.Jan-Krzysztof Duda | 14 |
| 2.Liem Le | 13 |
| 3.Magnus Carlsen | 12 |
| Praggnanandhaa | 12 |
| 5.Shakhriyar Mamedyarov | 11 |
| 6.Jorden Van Foreest | 10 |
| 7.Anish Giri | 9 |
| 8.Eric Hansen | 3 |