Now this is what I've been waiting for. The moment where Hikaru finally realizes that he is far behind Akira's skills and up until this point, he hasn't really strived for anything in the world of Go. He's just kind of been floating around, trolling people with Sai's skills, and learning the game at his leisure, albeit, he has gotten much better. Despite that, he hasn't taken Go seriously and shown that he's committed to the game and mastering it. But I guess he just didn't know young people like himself could become pros. He assumed only adults became pros and that he would simply catch up to Akira's level someday by playing at the pace he's going, but Kaio's first chair player tells him that he'll never be able to catch up to Akira at the pace he's going. That makes Hikaru question what he's been doing up until this point and now he realizes it's his turn to chase after Akira and catch up to him. I was hoping for something like this to happen. I've been wondering when it would, because motivation is what Hikaru has been lacking. He hasn't exactly had a reason in his own mind to commit himself fully to Go. But now he wants to catch up to Akira and this will be what causes Hikaru to evolve as a player. Can't wait to see him reach his potential.
