The S, A, B1 and B2 Leagues are real leagues where each participant plays all others. The C League has fewer games. The final stage of the ladder may consist of two games.
The bottom two of the S League are demoted (to the A League),
the top two of the A League are promoted (to the S League).
The bottom four of the A League are demoted (to the two B Leagues),
the top two from each B League are promoted (to the A League).
The top six of the C League are promoted (to the two B Leagues),
the bottom three from each B League are demoted (to the C League).
The top 16 of the First Tournament are promoted (to the C League),
the bottom 16 from the C League are demoted (to the First Tournament).
In other words: The C League has five rounds.
Whoever loses three times is demoted
(and does not play in following rounds, if any).
Whoever wins four times is promoted.
Komi is 6.5. Time is 8h for Title games, 5h for the S League, 4h for the A, 3h for the B1, B2 and C Leagues and First Tournament.
| # | player | result | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Yamashita Keigo | 4-1 | W+R | W+2.5 | W+R | |||
| 2. | Murakawa Daisuke | 3-2 | W+4.5 | W+R | ||||
| 3. | Takao Shinji | 2-3 | B+2.5 | B+0.5 | W+R | |||
| 4. | Yoda Norimoto | 3-2 | W+R | B+0.5 | ||||
| 5. | Yamashiro Hiroshi | 2-3 | W+1.5 | B+R | B+R | |||
| 6. | Kobayashi Satoru | 1-4 | B+R | B+R |
Kobayashi Satoru and Yamashiro Hiroshi are demoted.
| # | player | result | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Kono Rin | 7-0 | W+5.5 | W+R | W+R | |||||
| 2. | Yuki Satoshi | 2-5 | B+R | B+R | B+R | W+R | ||||
| 3. | Hane Naoki | 2-5 | B+R | B+R | B+R | |||||
| 4. | Cho Chikun | 3-4 | B+8.5 | B+R | B+R | W+R | ||||
| 5. | Ichiriki Ryo | 5-2 | W+R | B+2.5 | W+R | |||||
| 6. | Cho Riyu | 4-3 | B+3.5 | W+R | B+R | B+R | ||||
| 7. | Cho U | 4-3 | W+R | W+1.5 | B+R | |||||
| 8. | Mizokami Tomochika | 1-6 | B+R | B+R | B+R | B+0.5 |
Kono Rin and Ichiriki Ryo are promoted. Mizokami Tomochika, Hane Naoki, Yuki Satoshi, and Cho Chikun are demoted.
| L1: | Winner B1 vs winner B2 |
| L2: | Winner L1 vs winner C |
| L3: | Winner L2 vs winner A |
| L4: | Winner L3 vs runner-up S |
| L5: | Winner L4 vs winner S |
The last stage of the ladder is a best-of-three playoff where the winner of the S League gets a 1-game advantage. Thus, in order to win this stage, a single win suffices for the winner of the S League, while the winner of stage L4 needs two wins.
| stage | date | black | white | result | #mv | sgf |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| L1 | 2015-09-17 | Awaji Shuzo | Yamada Kimio | W+8.5 | 210 | sgf |
| L2 | 2015-10-01 | Yamada Kimio | Kyo Kagen | B+R | 187 | sgf |
| L3 | 2015-10-15 | Yamada Kimio | Kono Rin | B+R | 195 | sgf |
| L4 | 2015-10-29 | Murakawa Daisuke | Yamada Kimio | B+2.5 | 249 | sgf |
| L5 | 2015-11-09 | Murakawa Daisuke | Yamashita Keigo | W+R | 176 | sgf |
| date | black | white | result | #mv | sgf |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-01-14,15 | Yamashita Keigo | Iyama Yuta | W+R | 202 | sgf |
| 2016-01-28,29 | Iyama Yuta | Yamashita Keigo | B+2.5 | 273 | sgf |
| 2016-02-01,02 | Yamashita Keigo | Iyama Yuta | W+R | 200 | sgf |
| 2016-02-17,18 | Iyama Yuta | Yamashita Keigo | B+R | 189 | sgf |
Iyama Yuta won 4-0.