Under the lights of the Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, Kim Won Ho and Seo Seung Jae stood on the brink of history, then stepped boldly across it.

Their three-game victory over Hiroki Midorikawa and Kyohei Yamashita was anything but easy. The home pair snatched the opening game 22-20, their relentless attacks forcing the Korean duo briefly onto the back foot.

“We were pushed back in the first game because the opponents were persistent and kept attacking a lot,” Seo admitted.

But champions adjust.

In the second game Kim and Seo surged with renewed speed and fearless aggression, storming to a 21-11 win. The decider became a test of nerve and clarity but Kim focused on staying loose.

“I kept my eye on the shuttle the whole time and tried to relax so I wouldn’t put too much strength into my body,” he said.

Point by point, they carved out a 21-16 finish, and with it, their 10th title of the season.

This triumph did more than lift a trophy; it etched their names into badminton history. Kim and Seo matched the legendary Li Yongbo and Tian Bingyi’s 1988 calendar-year record for men’s doubles titles, becoming the first men’s pair this century to reach double digits in a single season. Remarkably, they achieved this in their first full season back together after splitting in 2019.

For Kim, the achievement still feels surreal.

“I wasn’t expecting to achieve this winning streak so I feel quite honoured. I will continue to work on my shortcomings and strive to play well in the future,” he promised.

New men’s doubles legends have been born in Kumamoto, where a season for the ages nears its culmination. With the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals still to come, history could yet be rewritten in four weeks’ time in Hangzhou.

→ Results (Finals)

WHAT OTHERS SAID

“We lost our last match to them so we planned to play faster. They upped the pace in the second game but even though we were tired, we never gave up.” – Dechapol Puavaranukroh after he and Supissara Paewsampran avenged their Indonesia Open final loss to Thom Gicquel/Delphine Delrue

“Opponents are getting better day by day, so I try to focus on what I want to be and just do my best. I feel I played well this week. Although I made some unforced errors, I could adjust and regain my focus.” – Women’s singles champion Ratchanok Intanon

“Things didn’t go well for us at first. So we started to focus on each rally, without thinking about the point gap, changing our gameplay every rally so we’d be less predictable. In the end, we made it.” – Pearly Tan on how she and Thinaah Muralitharan won their third title of 2025

“I hadn’t been able to win for a long time and those were difficult times, but I’m glad it’s over now.” – Kodai Naraoka after ending his two-year title drought