Qriousbridge 奇譯橋憶: 2024 SCBL Miracle! — The Spirit of NEVER Giving Up!

After guiding the Korean team Top to victory last year, this year’s Seoul Cup was a fresh experience with the Purplefog team. I partnered with a client, while Kelvin, my regular partner, joined as a teammate. Together with Hong Kong's Tommy, we formed a trio of Pro-Client pairs.

SungAe YANG – HoYee SO

WhaYoung KIM – Kelvin NG

Moon J – Tommy CHO

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Seoul Cup Overview

The 3-day Seoul Cup begins with a 7-round Swiss preliminary phase over a day and a half. Teams that advance to the QF play until 8 p.m. on the 2^ndday, while non-qualifiers enjoy an early afternoon tea. The 3^rd day features both SF and finals, along with a pairs event. Each player must participate in at least 30% of the preliminary matches and 50% of the K.O. rounds.

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A Rough Start

Day 1 was dismal: 1 win, 1 draw, and 2 losses left us with under 30 VPs, ranked 27th out of 32 teams, far below expectations 😰.

Thankfully, we enjoyed a fun evening of Korean BBQ. They hoped Kelvin and I could play to keep our slim chances alive, but also considered it might be better to play more hands since advancing seemed unlikely. We needed over 50 VPs from 3 rounds—a tall order given we hadn’t reached 30 VPs in 4 🤣.

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The Comeback Begins

On day 2, I partnered with SungAe, and Kelvin partnered with WhaYoung for the 1^stround to meet their participation requirement, and we secured a big win.

#2, Right off the bat, SungAe 's perfect defense, leading with her singleton ♦ and expertly finding my entry in ♣, helped us score 10 IMPs.

#4 She also chose not to open with ♦AKxxx+♣A, blocking our path to 6N.

Meanwhile, #9 Kelvin opened 3♥ with a 6-5 distribution, and WhaYoung made an impressive 4♥ with a small singleton fit.

This clever move left the opponents guessing without any information, leading them to make a wrong lead and allowing us to make 4♥, leading to a decisive 47:0 win and 19.54 VPs!

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Next, I played with Kelvin alongside Tommy and Moon. I had 2 different partners with separate conventions—100 and 200 pages long 😂—but thanks to my foresight, I brought both convention cards. With everything riding on us, the pressure was intense, but my experience with high-stakes tournaments made me immune to it 😜.

Luck favored us, and we started strong by successfully leading ♥ from ♥K9x hitting partner's ♥AJxxx against 3N on board 15.

#16 We then disrupted their 4♥ using Precision bidding, and even made 2♣ with a 5-0 ♣ distribution.

#17 came with a tough 3N, where distribution wasn’t ideal and there were some entry issues, but I managed to bring it home!

#18, #19, and #21 were a series of aggressive games with a 22-point 4♠, a 21-point 4♥, and a 22-point 5♣—all successful.

　　　　 —　1♦
1♥ 1♠ 2♥ Ｘ　
— 4♠ AP

What a daring move with only 22 HCPs and an 8-card fit — without any short suits on either hand!

However, Kelvin showcased his exceptional reading and playing skills. After cashing the ♠A and spotting the ♠9, he brilliantly decided to drop the ♠Q. His sharp instincts and strategic prowess truly made the difference and gained 10 IMPs!

Normal 4♥ when North has 5-5 but still got 7 IMPs.

　　2♣ 3♣! 4♣

4♠5♣ AP

Thanks to our opponents for helping us to reach 5♣!

After the ♦ lead, executing the double finesse became a breeze!

Adding to the momentum, Kelvin's excellent ♥ opening lead and our seamless defense on board #20 helped us outplay the opponents.

After 2 near-perfect rounds, our once-impossible 50 VPs target was suddenly within reach.
A small win would seal the deal!

(Lineup record was wrong, but pair datum was later adjusted)

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A Nail-Biting Final Round

However, not every round goes as planned.
We normally passed 1♠x-4 for +800
but unfortunately, we have 6♦ +1370.

Misunderstandings at the other table led to consecutive losses in #35 3N-4 and #36 4♠-3.

But we fought back on #31, with Moon capitalizing on a defensive mistake to bring 4♥ home!

Kelvin and I seamlessly worked together to defeat 3♥. After West showed both majors, Kelvin led ♣, and I shifted small ♠, taking ♥A, ♠A, ♠S ruff, and ♦A. We set 3♥-1 for +10 IMPs!.

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The final board brought drama:

1♦ 1♠

3♥ 4♦

4♠ ??

What do you think these bids mean?
Most would agree:
3♥ = SPL
4♦ = cue bid
4♠ = to play.

But some younger players might not know that, historically, there was a distinction between a reverse and a jump reverse.

1♦-1♠; 2♥ showed 16-18 points,
while 1♦-1♠; 3♥ showed 19-21,
and only a jump to 4♥ indicated a SPL.

This generational gap can lead to misunderstandings 😂.

Their solid 6♦ slam was downgraded to 4♠-3, resulting in -300. Just when their epic comeback seemed doomed, they didn’t know that the opponents at our table were even more devastated 😱.

2♣ 2♦

3♥ 4♥

4N 5♣

6♥

In natural bidding systems, after 2♣-2♦; 3♦, the space lacked to find a 4-4 major suit fit, so the 2♣-2♦; 3M convention, showing 4M5♦, is widely used.

Our opponents, likely unfamiliar with this convention, ended up in 6♥, which was already destined to go down by 4 tricks. That result would have been enough to offset our teammates' 4♠-3.

However, Kelvin, with his sharp scoring instincts and precise defense, made the bold decision to double 6♥. Thanks to his brilliant execution, the opponents went down 6, transforming the score into a devastating +1700 and amplifying our IMP gain to 16!

(Lineup record was wrong, but pair datum was later adjusted)

Mission Impossible: Perfectly Accomplished! In the last 3 rounds of the preliminary, we secured 19.54, 20, and 15.99 VPs, totaling 55.53—surpassing our original goal of 50 VPs by a full 5.5!

We soared from 27th place to 4th‼️

Kelvin and I beat last year's +1.8 record with an incredible +2.1‼️

SungAe and I also achieved an impressive result of nearly +0.8‼️

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Final Stages

And then it was over.

We faced a tough team of four Asian Games players from Hong Kong and, unsurprisingly, were knocked out and relegated to the pairs event 😅.

In pairs, SungAe played brilliantly, passing with [♠xxxxx♥Ax♦Axx♣Axx].

After the next player opened 1♠ with only 4 spades, SungAe’s calm defense earned us +200! The tournament staff even double-checked our score since every other table had played 2♠, while we were the only ones to defend it 😳.

We finished with 55% in the morning and 58% in the afternoon, but sadly just missed a podium finish.

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A Bittersweet Ending

Though my trips to Seoul Cup have been short and rushed, I’m always happy to see clients I’ve played with over the past 5 years (Wow! Has it really been five years since I turned pro? 😯). The time together is always too short 🥲.

Participating in the pairs event allowed me to meet many new friends. Just a heads-up for those I’ve met: my face recognition skills are terrible! Please don’t be offended if I don’t remember you next time 🫣.