Shogi prodigy Sota Fujii lost one of his eight titles Thursday, falling to fellow 21-year-old and rising star Takumi Ito three games to two in the Eio championship series.
Ito won Game 5 in Kofu, west of Tokyo, to halt Fujii's hard-to-believe championship unbeaten streak at 22 series in the traditional board game.
Last October, Fujii completed a sweep of the game's eight titles, making him the first player ever to hold eight.
Yoshiharu Habu held all seven available in 1996 before the eight-title era began in 2017.
Fujii has broken numerous youngest records, turning pro at 14 and two months and winning his first title, Kisei, in July 2020 at 17 and 11 months.
