Kang had a remarkable result in the 10th Nongshim Cup, beating the dominant player of the first stage, Tuo Jiaxi (who had beaten all four of his opponents), and going on to win against Kimio Yamada, Piao Wenyao, Naoki Hane and Qiu Jun in the respective order for 5 straight wins.

His reign was ended by Shinji Takao, who was, at that stage, the last remaining member of the Japanese team.

Though it was a difficult loss with white, as all of Kang's matches beforehand had been with black, it still made the Korean Team gain an advantage in members remaining, and with fellow Korean baduk kings Lee Se-dol and Lee Chang-ho remaining, Korea was still the strongest contender for the cup.

Kang prevailed in the final, defeating Lee with white by two and a half points to win his first world championship.

After several years of decent international tournament placings, Kang made another breakthrough to reach the final of the 2015-16 edition of the LG Cup, alongside compatriot Park Yeong-hun.