Daejeon to host LCK 2023 Summer finals

The League of Legends Champions Korea 2023 Summer final is scheduled to be held at Daejeon Convention Center in Daejeon. LCK announced it would close this year’s summer season at Daejeon, aiming to invite the biggest number of spectators to the city can be easily reached from around the country. LCK has been trying to host the finals in cities other than Seoul in order to offer different audience experiences. While the LCK Summer finals were held at stadiums near Seoul starting in 2015, th

May 19, 2023

T1 to open new cultural complex for esports fans

T1, South Korea’s one of the most popular esports organization, is scheduled to launch a new cultural complex T1 Base Camp in Seoul’s bustling Hongdae district. T1 made a name for itself as the most successful esports organization after winning League of Legends World Championships in 2013, 2015 and 2016. Korean League of Legends virtuoso "Faker" plays as a midlaner for T1 as well. Unlike regular PC bang -- internet cafes often used to play PC games -- T1 Base Camp also has

May 5, 2023

AfreecaTV draws LoL fans across globe

South Korean livestreaming platform AfreecaTV is attracting fans of the globally popular esports game League of Legends by providing various ways to connect with their favorite players and teams. LoL boasts over 150 million monthly active players worldwide. AfreecaTV has signed a contract with the organizers of League of Legends Champions Korea to broadcast its games. The LCK Spring regular season began in January this year and will continue through April. According to AfreecaTV, the livestreami

March 28, 2023

NCSOFT Q3 net profit up 83 pct on stellar sales of 'Lineage' franchise

NCSOFT Corp., a major South Korean online and mobile game developer, said Friday its third-quarter net income soared more than 80 percent from a year earlier, led by strong sales from the latest entry of its popular "Lineage" franchise. It logged a net profit of 182.1 billion won ($132.2 million) on a consolidated basis in the three months ending in September, compared with 99.5 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. For the quarter, NCSOFT posted an opera

Nov. 11, 2022

Riot Games, Incheon Airport to create esports lounge

Riot Games Korea announced that it has signed an agreement with Incheon International Airport Corp. to set up an esports lounge at the airport’s Terminal 1. According to Riot Games Korea, the company will offer an offline-online esports experience at the gaming zone, with the aim of introducing Riot Games’ intellectual property as well as esports culture. The gamers’ lounge will be set up at Incheon Airport Terminal 1’s duty-free zone near Gate 30. The space will be d

June 14, 2022

[From the Scene] 2022 Mid-Season Invitational lights up esports arena in Busan

BUSAN -- The Mid-Season Invitational, one of the most important international League of Legends tournaments, kicked off at Esports Busan Arean in Busan on Tuesday. Coming from competitive League of Legends regional leagues including South Korea, China, Europe, and North America, the 11 spring season champions are set to clash for the prestigious MSI Championship. Starting with the congratulatory speech from the legendary Korean esports caster Jun, the opening video introduced the tournament p

May 11, 2022

Stage set for T1, Gen.G to clash for LCK Spring title

Two Korean League of Legends powerhouse teams -- T1 and Gen.G -- are set to face each other for this year’s spring title, with esports fans and spectators excited to watch the two battle it out in the first in-person showdown in almost three years. “In accordance with the government’s COVID-19 measures, a total of 3,500 seats will be available for the upcoming finals. We hope to bring a stadium filled with the crowd’s chants this summer,” said the secretary-gener

March 30, 2022

KeSPA announces five esports coaches for Hangzhou Asian Games

The Korea e-Sports Association on Monday named five coaches to lead its esports national team for the upcoming 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. Of the eight medal events at the 2022 Asian Games, South Korea is set to compete in five -- FIFA (by EA Sports), HearthStone, League of Legends, PUBG Mobile and Street Fighter V. The legendary LoL coach Kim “kkOma” Jeong-gyun, who won 10 domestic titles and 3 international championships, is expected to lead the national team in winning

March 29, 2022

LCK Spring finals to celebrate 10th anniversary in Kintex

The League of Legends Champions Korea 2022 Spring final returns to esports fans and spectators face-to-face at the country’s largest convention center, Kintex in Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province, just northwest of Seoul. In compliance with social distancing guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the last five final matches have been livestreamed. LCK announced it would close this year’s spring season at the No. 1 exhibition center in Kintex on April 2, where the first LCK final was

March 17, 2022

Faker reprises record LCK winning streak from 7 years ago

Pro gamer Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok of T1 made solid his position as an undisputed superstar and a living legend of the decade-old League of Legends Champions Korea, reprising his former LCK winning streak and setting a slew of other remarkable in-game records. With T1 reaching 14 consecutive victories after defeating KT Rolster in a match Sunday, Faker repeated the winning streak record that he set with then-teammates Jang “MaRin” Gyeong-hwan, Bae “Bengi” Seong

March 8, 2022

IP-based games to expand into drama and film

Korean game developers are seeking to follow webtoons’ successful jump to films and global streaming platforms. According to South Korean game developer Krafton, “Bystanders,” a short film based on the company’s renowned battle royale game, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, recorded over 1 million views on the “PUBG: Battlegrounds” YouTube channel as of Monday. The two-part project surprised both local and global viewers when its first short film, &ldquo

Feb. 8, 2022

‘PUBG: Battlegrounds’ soars to No. 1 on Steam

Krafton’s battle royal shooter “PUBG: Battlegrounds” topped the most played games chart on Steam, a digital distribution platform for PC gaming, Thursday. According to Krafton, the number of concurrent users doubled after the game switched to free-to-play mode Wednesday, recording a maximum number of 660,000 users. “Under the new theme of ‘Battlegrounds for all,’ we believe that the switch to free service allowed many users from various backgrounds to enjoy

Jan. 14, 2022

AfreecaTV looks to expand global communication through esports

AfreecaTV will aim to expand communication with global users through esports content, the Korean video streaming service said Wednesday. According to the company, AfreecaTV currently operates a total of six firms in South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, the US, Thailand and Hong Kong to provide various streaming content in different languages so that overseas users can watch it without any communication barriers. The Korean video streaming service has held a number of esports competitions abroad, with

Jan. 12, 2022

2022 LCK Spring to return with fans

Attempting to excite fans and elevate the level of play in League of Legends Champions Korea, one of the changes for this year’s upcoming season is the reopening of LOL Park for fans, audience and spectators, said the secretary general of LCK Aiden Lee in a press conference at CGV Yongsan, central Seoul, Wednesday. “A total of 10 teams -- T1, Gen.G, Damwon Kia, Liiv Sandbox, Nongshim RedForce, Hanwha Life Esports, DRX, KT Rolster, Fredit Brion and Kwangdong Freecs -- are scheduled

Jan. 6, 2022

'Arcane' lands at No. 2 on Netflix global top 10 chart

Riot Games made a successful debut on Netflix with the League of Legends-themed animation “Arcane,” soaring to No. 2 on the service’s official weekly chart. Riot Games released its animated series Nov. 7 after the Worlds 2021 Championship, one of the most popular global esports events. “Arcane” ended the historic 46-day reign of Netflix global sensation “Squid Game,” topping the chart within a few days of its release. The series has made the top 10

Nov. 19, 2021

NCSoft to present Lineage W with global ambitions

South Korean major game developer NCSoft has global ambitions for its new massively multiplayer online role playing game Lineage W, set for launch Thursday at midnight. Lineage W will first be available in 12 languages for users in South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. NCSoft then plans to expand its service to North America, Europe and South America. Instead of operating separate servers for each country, NCSoft has created the Global One Build service that allows

Nov. 2, 2021

3 Korean teams claim spots in LoL World Championship semifinals

As Gen.G Esports triumphed over Cloud9 of the US, the last remaining hope for the West, in a clean 3-0 sweep Monday, three of four slots in the semifinals are now occupied by Korean teams: Damwon Kia, T1 and Gen.G Esports. The first game of the semifinals for the League of Legend World Championship will feature a clash of LoL giants Damwon and T1. The two teams, considered the two strongest teams in this year’s tournament, seek to cement their respective legacies by hoisting the Summone

Oct. 26, 2021

All Korean teams to play in LoL World Championships quarterfinals

The chances of Korean teams facing each other in the semifinals -- or even in the finals -- of the League of Legends World Championships have increased, as the Korean teams qualified in their respective group stages. The eight teams that made the quarterfinals are: Damwon Kia, T1, Hanwha Life Esports and GenG Esports of Korea; Edward Gaming and Royal Never Give Up of China; Cloud9 from US and Mad Lions of Europe. Damwon Kia, T1, Royal Never Give Up and Gen.G Esports topped their sections in th

Oct. 22, 2021

[Feature] South Korea poised to become home of esports

Once ignored and disdained by older generations, esports has now become a mainstream activity for many South Koreans. Starting with the first Starcraft Pro League in 2003, esports has long sought to be recognized as an official event in the South Korean sports industry. While South Korea is widely known as the home of esports, games, especially computer games, were long regarded as harmful for youngsters. For Korean parents wanting their children to be academically successful, games were an ev

Oct. 7, 2021

[Herald Interview] T1 Teddy ready to compete at Worlds 2021

T1’s bot-laner Park “Teddy” Jin-sung is ready to give his all at the prestigious League of Legends’ world championship. After his latest appearance at the LoL Champions Korea summer season finals on Aug. 28, Teddy, 23, says he feels both mentally and physically prepared for the big stage. “After securing the spot in the group stage of Worlds 2021 as third seed, a short vacation was given to the players. With the extended COVID-19 pandemic, I was able to relax and

Sept. 16, 2021