Sakai Hideyuki was for some years one of Japan's strongest amateurs, and was one of the first to be awarded an amateur 8-dan diploma. In 2000 he won the World Amateur Go Championship, and the following year was accepted as a professional by the Kansai Ki-in, with an initial professional rank of 5 dan, at the age of 28, somewhat older than the age at which most pros first get ranked.
November 20th, 2003 : Sakai Hideyuki 6 dan won the 47th Kansai-Kiin First Place Tournament beating Yukawa Mitsuhisa 9 dan by 2-1.