They are viewed the same sports professionals in China&#x2F;Japan&#x2F;Korea. Go news would share sports frontpage, and players are paid well. In China the national Go association is managed under the sports council, with dorms and national squads under the association.<p>As it&#x27;s a game more popular amongst older demographics, there tend to be a lot of wealthy patrons and supporters (individuals and companies) who sponsor tournaments and teams. One of the highest-paying competitions is the Ing Cup with a prize of $400,000. Japan has nearly 10 major year-long tournaments every year, totaling over $2mil in prizes, many are sponsored by major newspapers.[1] China has domestic year-long leagues, where city teams each have their own sponsors. All the games I mentioned here pay a match fee whether players win or lose.<p>So yes, it is a popular game in Asia, however less so for the younger demographic and is unfortunately in decline. Most people just don&#x27;t have the attention span, interest or time these days. :(<p>[1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;List_of_professional_Go_tournaments#Japan" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;List_of_professional_Go_tourna...</a>