User:DancingPineapple/New sandbox

== Hoshino was born in Ageo, Saitama on August 10, 1988. From an interview with eSports-World JP, he said he became interested in shogi when he was about five years old when he played Othello with his mother. He also entered the Japan Shogi Association's apprentice school at the rank of 6-kyū under the guidance of shogi professional Kazuyoshi Nishimura in 2001. '''In 2007, he was promoted to the rank of apprentice professional 3-dan. In 2014, he was promoted to the rank of 4-dan and finally obtained full professional status after tying Hiroshi Miyamoto for first place in the 54th 3-dan League (October 2013 –March 2014) with a record of 13 wins and 5 losses. He became a professional shogi at the age of 25 which is considered late for most professional players as you have to reach professional status before the age of 26. Hoshino said that he didn't have a particular motivation for pursuing professional shogi, it was more akin to "if I didn't continue [pursuing professional shogi],''' ==

== On October 3rd, 2021, with an interview with eSports-World JP, Hoshino announced that he was going to transition into Professional eShogi with "Real Time Battle Shogi" due to the Coronavirus Pandemic in Japan. This was not a permanent transition to eShogi as he stated that he will return to traditional shogi when the pandemic dies down. ==