Twenty-year-old shogi sensation Fujii Sota has become the youngest player to win the Meijin title, the oldest of the eight major titles in the Japanese board game. He has also become only the second player in Japan's shogi history to hold seven major titles.

Fujii defeated defending champion Watanabe Akira in the fifth match on Thursday of the best-of-seven title series.

The second day of the match in Nagano Prefecture, central Japan, began with Fujii playing his sealed move, resuming from where the two left off the prior day.

Both started aggressively. In the afternoon, they spent more than 1 hour each contemplating their next moves.

Fujii gradually drove the defending champion into a corner, and Watanabe conceded after the 94th move.

The victory made Fujii the youngest holder of the Meijin title, at the age of 20 years and 10 months, breaking the previous record set by Tanigawa Koji. Tanigawa achieved the feat four decades ago when he was 21 years and two months old.

Fujii, who had six titles going into the Meijin series, is now the youngest-ever holder of seven major titles and the second to do so following Habu Yoshiharu. Habu achieved the feat in 1996 when he was 25 years and four months old.

Fujii will soon fly to Vietnam for the best-of-five Kisei title series, opening on June 5, as a defending champion.