James and Michael played their Top 8 game on KGS on Saturday night. After a complicated struggled James (black) pulled clear in yose to win by 8.5 points. On Monday night James and Ian then played their game in Belfast Boat Club. Despite inventing a new joseki, James (white) won by 4.5 points. This means that James Hutchinson qualified for the final in his first year in the competition with a perfect score.

The current scoretable is in the usual place.