Photo/Illutration Sota Fujii during a news conference after winning the Eio title on Sept. 13 in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward (Naoko Kawamura)

"Shogi" wunderkind Sota Fujii showed his mettle in winning the deciding game of the Eio championship on Sept. 13, becoming the youngest player to capture the sport’s triple crown.

Fujii, 19, won the Eio championship to claim one of shogi’s eight major titles by beating Masayuki Toyoshima, 31, in the final game. 

Fujii has won the Oi and Kisei championships.

The best-of-five match for the Eio title kicked off in July, and the decider was played in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward.

It marked the first time that Fujii has been pushed to the brink in a best-of-five or best-of-seven series for a major title. But he proved to be up to the challenge, in cementing his status as one of the game's greatest players.

He became the 10th person to hold three major titles at the same time and the youngest to accomplish the feat.

Yoshiharu Habu, 50, was the last to do nearly three decades ago when he captured three titles at the age of 22 in 1993.

In the past, Yasuharu Oyama and Kozo Masuda, both deceased, among others held the triple crown. Most of these former champions were the faces of shogi in their respective generations.

In his young career, in which he has captivated shogi fans and others across the nation by breaking an assortment of records, Fujii has competed in five championships and won them all. 

With the latest Eio title, Fujii has matched Akira Watanabe, 37, in the number of titles currently held. 

In their budding rivalry, Fujii played Toyoshima in the Oi championship this summer and successfully defended his title.

The two will compete again in the Ryuo championship, which kicks off in October.

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