is one of the eight major titles in professional shogi, and it means "the king's rank" (王 ō 'king' + 位 i 'rank, position').
Background The annual tournament started in 1960, sponsored by a group of local newspapers which has consisted of Shimbun Sansha Rengō (Three-Newspaper Association). With the addition of Ōi, there were four major shogi titles along with Meijin, Ninth Dan (Ryūō), and Ōshō.
Format The challenger for the title is determined by three-step preliminary round that comprises 1st heat, league competition and final playoff. Top eight players in 1st heat and top four players of previous year are divided into two six-player leagues. Top one of each league advances to final playoff, and the winner of one-game match becomes the challenger.
The player that wins four games out of seven first in the championship will become the new Ōi title holder. Each championship games assign players a six-hour playtime during two days.
Lifetime Ōi
is the title awarded to a player who won the championship five times in a row or ten times in total. Active players may qualify for this title, but it is only officially awarded upon their retirement or death.
Only four professionals have qualified for the Lifetime Oi. They are as follows: Yasuharu Ōyama (deceased) Makoto Nakahara (retired) Yoshiharu Habu (active) Sōta Fujii (active)
Winners
No.YearWinnerScoreOpponent 1 1960 Yasuharu Ōyama 41 Masao Tsukada 2 1961 Yasuharu Ōyama (2) 41 Yuzō Maruta 3 1962 Yasuharu Ōyama (3) 40 Motoji Hanamura 4 1963 Yasuharu Ōyama (4) 42 Hifumi Katō 5 1964 Yasuharu Ōyama (5) 42 Tatsuya Futakami 6 1965 Yasuharu Ōyama (6) 40 Daigoroh Satō 7 1966 Yasuharu Oyama (7) 41 Michio Ariyoshi 8 1967 Yasuharu Ōyama (8) 41 Nobuyuki Ōuchi 9 1968 Yasuharu Ōyama (9) 42 Michio Ariyoshi 10 1969 Yasuharu Ōyama (10) 42 Kazuyoshi Nishimura 11 1970 Yasuharu Ōyama (11) 41 Kunio Yonenaga 12 1971 Yasuharu Ōyama (12) 43 Makoto Nakahara 13 1972 Kunio Naitō 41 Yasuharu Ōyama 14 1973 Makoto Nakahara 40 Kunio Naitō 15 1974 Makoto Nakahara (2) 42 Kunio Yonenaga 16 1975 Makoto Nakahara (3) 42 Kunio Naitō 17 1976 Makoto Nakahara (4) 42 Osamu Katsuura 18 1977 Makoto Nakahara (5) 42 Kunio Yonenaga 19 1978 Makoto Nakahara (6) 41 Yasuharu Ōyama 20 1979 Kunio Yonenaga 43 Makoto Nakahara 21 1980 Makoto Nakahara (7) 40 Kunio Yonenaga 22 1981 Makoto Nakahara (8) 43 Yasuharu Ōyama 23 1982 Kunio Naitō (2) 42 Makoto Nakahara 24 1983 Michio Takahashi 42 Kunio Naitō 25 1984 Hifumi Katō 43 Michio Takahashi 26 1985 Michio Takahashi (2) 40 Hifumi Katō 27 1986 Michio Takahashi (3) 40 Kunio Yonenaga 28 1987 Koji Tanigawa 41 Michio Takahashi 29 1988 Keiji Mori 43 Koji Tanigawa 30 1989 Koji Tanigawa (2) 41 Keiji Mori 31 1990 Koji Tanigawa (3) 43 Yasumitsu Satō 32 1991 Koji Tanigawa (4) 42 Hiroki Nakata 33 1992 Masataka Goda 42 Koji Tanigawa 34 1993 Yoshiharu Habu 40 Masataka Goda 35 1994 Yoshiharu Habu (2) 43 Masataka Goda 36 1995 Yoshiharu Habu (3) 42 Masataka Goda 37 1996 Yoshiharu Habu (4) 41 Koichi Fukaura 38 1997 Yoshiharu Habu (5) 41 Yasumitsu Satō 39 1998 Yoshiharu Habu (6) 42 Yasumitsu Satō 40 1999 Yoshiharu Habu (7) 40 Koji Tanigawa 41 2000 Yoshiharu Habu (8) 43 Koji Tanigawa 42 2001 Yoshiharu Habu (9) 40 Nobuyuki Yashiki 43 2002 Koji Tanigawa (5) 41 Yoshiharu Habu 44 2003 Koji Tanigawa (6) 41 Yoshiharu Habu 45 2004 Yoshiharu Habu (10) 41 Koji Tanigawa 46 2005 Yoshiharu Habu (11) 43 Yasumitsu Satō 47 2006 Yoshiharu Habu (12) 42 Yasumitsu Satō 48 2007 Koichi Fukaura 43 Yoshiharu Habu 49 2008 Koichi Fukaura (2) 43 Yoshiharu Habu 50 2009 Koichi Fukaura (3) 43 Kazuki Kimura 51 2010 Akihito Hirose 42 Koichi Fukaura 52 2011 Yoshiharu Habu (13) 43 Akihito Hirose 53 2012 Yoshiharu Habu (14) 41 Takeshi Fujii 542013 Yoshiharu Habu (15) 41 Hisashi Namekata 552014 Yoshiharu Habu (16)421 Kazuki Kimura562015 Yoshiharu Habu (17) 41 Akihito Hirose572016Yoshiharu Habu (18)43Kazuki Kimura582017 Tatsuya Sugai41Yoshiharu Habu592018Masayuki Toyoshima43Tatsuya Sugai602019Kazuki Kimura43Masayuki Toyoshima612020Sōta Fujii40Kazuki Kimura622021Sōta Fujii (2)41Masayuki Toyoshima632022Sōta Fujii (3)41Masayuki Toyoshima642023Sōta Fujii (4)41Daichi Sasaki 65 2024 Sōta Fujii (5) 41 Akira Watanabe 66 2025 Sōta Fujii (6) 42 Takuya Nagase 67 2026 Sōta Fujii (7) 42 Takumi Itō
Records Most titles overall: Yoshiharu Habu, 18 Most consecutive titles: Yasuharu Ōyama, 12 (1960–1971)
Notes
References
External links Japan Shogi Association, Tournament information: Oi Tournament (in Japanese)