S'porean team wins silver in 1st Mahjong World Cup, beat 2 Chinese teams in finals

A team of four Singaporeans clinched silver in the inaugural Mahjong World Cup on Oct. 5, putting the country in the global spotlight for the Chinese tile game.

Held in Rimini, Italy, the 5-day tournament drew a total of 96 participants from 14 regions and countries.

They formed 24 teams, including two that consisted of all Singaporeans, and one mixed team of players from Singapore and Denmark.

The all-Singaporean team of Low Kee Chung, Boey Mun Seng, Eric Quek, and Ow Zhong Ming, advanced to the finals where they beat two Chinese teams and lost to a third, ultimately claiming silver.

Seasoned players

Speaking to Mothership, Low shared that he and his teammates are good friends who frequently have played mahjong with and against each other.

"We practise together every week, both online and offline," he said.

All four of them have a lot of experience competing in overseas mahjong tournaments, as a team and individually.

Low, who has enjoyed the game since secondary school, placed second at the 2023 Open European Mahjong Championship.

Before the recent world cup, the team also placed fifth at the Slender West Lake Elite invitational tournament in China this June.

Earlier in 2025, they found out about the Mahjong World Cup through the Singapore Sparrows Mahjong Network, and decided to pit their skills against mahjong experts around the world.

This new world cup was an "S-tier" level competition — the highest tier — because many countries participated in it, Low explained.

To train for it, the team not only practised frequently, but also watched livestream commentaries of games, and read books on top Chinese mahjong players.

Three in the team were self-employed, while the fourth was retired, so it was not difficult to juggle work and training, Low said.

"We had to fly to Italy one week earlier to acclimatise to the time zone and sightsee at the same time," he added.

Winning silver

The Mahjong World Cup was a fun experience for Low and his team. But while they were confident and seasoned players, they found the competition mentally draining.

"We were not that nervous but rather anxious, as mahjong inevitably involves randomness and there’s always a chance to perform badly if the flow is bad," Low said.

The elimination stage of the tournament was intense, as the number of teams was halved each day from the top 16 to the top four.

As Low's team progressed to the finals, they went up against three Chinese teams fielded by some of the country's top players.

"It was no walk in the park," Low said.

They were thus "ecstatic" when they won silver with just 1.5 Table Points behind the winning Chinese team.

Buoyed by their results, Low's team hopes to take part again in the next Mahjong World Cup, which they expect to happen about two years later.

"We hope that more recognition and support can be given to the local competitive mahjong community so that current and aspiring players can participate in world-class overseas tournaments to fly the Singapore flag high in future," Low said.

Top images from Low Kee Chung