Itō was promoted to the rank of apprentice professional 1-dan in 1998,[3] and apprentice professional 3-dan in 2002.[2] He obtained full professional status and the corresponding rank of 4-dan on April 1, 2007, after finishing in the 40th 3-dan League (October 2006 – March 2007) with a record of 13 wins and 5 losses.[4] Although Itō finished league play in third place one win behind Masayuki Toyoshima and Kōta Kanai, his result was good enough to earn him a second promotion point and gave him the option to enter the professional ranks as a free class player, which he decided to do.[2] Itō was the second player after Yūsuke Ina to obtain professional status under the promotion point system.[2]