[News Focus] Euro 2020, with 12 joint hosts, draws attention amid pandemic

SEJONG -- Alongside the Tokyo Summer Olympics, another big international sports event is slated for next summer: the Euro 2020. Both events have been delayed by one year due to COVID-19. The UEFA Euro 2020 -- whose official title, like that of Tokyo 2020, remains unchanged -- is slated for June 11-July 11, 2021, about a month before the Olympic Games. Some Japanese are protesting for the withdrawal of the 32nd Summer Olympiad, citing pandemic risks, and the same is true of the Euros. Since

SoccerNov. 19, 2020

Seoul to host forum supporting sports growth in developing nations

An annual forum designed to support the growth of sports in developing countries will be held in Seoul this week, a related state-funded agency said Wednesday. The sports ministry will host the "Dream Together Seoul Forum" at SKY31 Conference Hall at Lotte World Tower in Seoul, starting at 2 p.m. Friday. The Korea Sports Promotion Foundation (KSPO) organized the event, which will be held under the theme "Sports for a Better World." KSPO said Thursday the forum will help pro

More SportsNov. 19, 2020

Dinos' Altherr apologizes for refusing to wear mask during Korean Series

An American baseball player competing in the South Korean baseball championship series apologized on Wednesday for refusing to wear a mask during official pregame and postgame functions. Aaron Altherr of the NC Dinos skipped the award ceremony and his postgame press conference on Tuesday, after being named the Player of the Game in the Dinos' 5-3 victory over the Doosan Bears in Game 1 of the Korean Series. Altherr hit a three-run home run at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, but told the club and th

BaseballNov. 18, 2020

Faker among 5 LCK players chosen for 2020 LoL All-Star

After a week of online voting, the most popular player in each of the five roles in League of Legends was selected to play in the 2020 LoL All-Star Event on Dec. 18 to 20. Unlike the previous years in which current and retired pros and influencers from all over the world gathered in one city, this year’s event will be held online. All the chosen players from Korean LoL esports league, LoL Champions Korea, will be playing at LoL Park in Jongno, Seoul. The LoL All-Star is an annual event

More SportsNov. 18, 2020

COVID-19-marred European trip leaves tactical question marks for nat'l football team

With one key player after another suffering injury and illness, South Korea's trip to Austria for men's football friendly matches seemed doomed before it began. The team's worst nightmares materialized in the form of a coronavirus outbreak, with six players and two staffers testing positive over the weekend. Those infections left an already banged-up team decimated. Considering the circumstances, head coach Paulo Bento did an admirable job guiding South Korea to a win and a loss in two matche

SoccerNov. 18, 2020

Esports arena opens in Busan, first outside greater Seoul

Busan Esports Arena will officially open Wednesday, Busan Metropolitan City and Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency announced Tuesday. The esports arena to open in Busan on the 15th and 16th floors of Samjung Tower is the first arena dedicated to esports to open outside the capital area. This is the first of the three esports arenas supported by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to open following the government decision to promote esports outside of Seoul in 2018. The other two arenas

More SportsNov. 17, 2020

Ties, more ties, walk-off blasts: a look at history of Korean Series

This is the 39th season of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) but starting Tuesday, the NC Dinos and the Doosan Bears will only be playing in the 38th Korean Series. So what happened in that one missing season? The very first Korean Series game, back in 1982, ended in a tie. Yes, even in games that matter the most, there are ties in the KBO. The answer to the above question and other factoids like tie games have helped shape the history of championship baseball in the country. The Korean S

BaseballNov. 17, 2020

Rival right-handers to face each other to open S. Korean baseball championship series

Two right-handers will renew their regular season rivalry to open the South Korean baseball championship series on Tuesday. The NC Dinos and the Doosan Bears, two contestants of the Korean Series, each announced their Game 1 starters at Monday's media day. Right-hander Drew Rucinski will take the mound for the Dinos, the regular season champions who earned a bye to the Korean Series. The Bears will counter with right-hander Raul Alcantara. They finished third in the regular season and had to

BaseballNov. 16, 2020

4 players, 1 staffer on S. Korean nat'l football team test positive for COVID-19

Four players and one staff member on the South Korean men’s national football team have tested positive for the novel coronavirus while in Austria to play friendly matches. The Korea Football Association said Saturday that forward Lee Dong-jun, midfielders Kwon Chang-hoon and Hwang In-beom, goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo, and an unidentified staffer tested positive for COVID-19 after undergoing polymerase chain reaction test at 5 p.m. Thursday in Austria. The team has been staying in Vienna si

SoccerNov. 14, 2020

S. Korea play Egypt to scoreless draw in U-23 football friendly match

Saved by their goalkeeper, South Korea ended up in a scoreless draw with Egypt to open a men's under-23 football friendly tournament in Cairo. Goalkeeper Song Bum-keun stood on his head and made several stops at Al Salam Stadium in the Egyptian capital on Thursday (local time), while his teammates up front barely mounted any attack. This was the first of two matches South Korea will play in Cairo. Coached by Kim Hak-bum, South Korea will next face Brazil at the same venue, at 10 p.m. Saturday

SoccerNov. 13, 2020

Wiz beat Bears to stay alive in KBO postseason

The KT Wiz will live to see at least another day in the South Korean baseball postseason. The Wiz defeated the Doosan Bears 5-2 to stave off elimination in the best-of-five penultimate round in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason on Thursday. Starter William Cuevas fired eight strong innings, and the Wiz broke out for five runs with two outs in the top of the eighth inning for the victory at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. This was the Wiz's first postseason win in franchise history, w

BaseballNov. 12, 2020

New dates for World Cup qualifying matches set

The new dates for the Asian qualifying matches for the 2022 FIFA World Cup have been set, with South Korea scheduled to complete the halted second round by June next year. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) announced Thursday that the second round matches will be completed by June 15, 2021, and the final round will commence in September 2021. Asian countries are currently in the second round of the World Cup qualifying campaign, which began in September last year. Following the winter bre

SoccerNov. 12, 2020

S. Korean captain Son Heung-min looking to settle score in friendlies

Son Heung-min loves playing for his country as much as anyone, but he doesn't put on his South Korean kit just to feel good about himself. When South Korea take on Mexico and Qatar in friendly matches in Austria later this month, the men's national football team captain will try to settle an old score. Mexico beat South Korea 2-1 during the group stage at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and Qatar knocked out South Korea 1-0 in the quarterfinals at the 2019 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup

SoccerNov. 12, 2020

Proud second baseman has no regrets about retiring after 16 years in KBO

To hear Jeong Keun-woo tell it, his 16-year career in South Korean baseball has exceeded even his own expectations -- the way he performed, how much love his fans showed him and all the honors that he won. Now at 38, Jeong, considered one of the greatest second basemen in Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) history, has no second thoughts over hanging up his cleats. "It feels like yesterday I was crying tears of joy after getting drafted by a pro team," Jeong said Wednesday during his

BaseballNov. 11, 2020

Jeonbuk capture FA Cup for 2nd major title of 2020

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors captured their second major football title of 2020 by winning the FA Cup tournament Sunday. Jeonbuk defeated their K League rivals Ulsan Hyundai FC 2-1 in the second leg of the championship final at the FA Cup, organized annually by the Korea Football Association. Midfielder Lee Seung-gi scored both of Jeonbuk's goals in the second half at Jeonju World Cup Stadium in Jeonju, 240 kilometers south of Seoul. The two teams played to a 1-1 draw in the opening leg Wednesday, a

SoccerNov. 8, 2020

Defending KBO champions run into postseason debutants in penultimate round

In their march toward a second straight South Korean baseball championship, the Doosan Bears will be running into the Cinderella team of the season in the penultimate stage of the postseason. The KT Wiz, first-time participants in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason after joining the league in 2015, earned a bye into the best-of-five second round. They put up the second-best record in the regular season. The Bears, as No. 3 seed, had to play an extra round, and knocked off the LG T

BaseballNov. 6, 2020

[Herald Interview] Rookie LCK announcers reflect on their first season

  In the European League of Legends scene, there is an iconic esports host named Sjokz who has conducted LoL European Championships player interviews for several years. In the LoL Pro League in China, her equivalent is Candice. In the LCK, however, no esports announcer has managed to stay with the league for multiple years, as many move on after gaining popularity or quit for various reasons. While LCK fans supported the announcers as they moved on to bigger things, it always left a bitter

More SportsNov. 3, 2020

Riot Games finalizes 10 teams for LCK franchise

Riot Games finalized the 10 teams for the League of Legends Champions Korea franchise on Monday after announcing implementation of the franchise system for 2021 back in April. The 10 teams are hyFresh Blade (Brion Esports), Sandbox Gaming, Afreeca Freecs, Damwon Gaming (AD Esports), KT Rolster (KT Sports), Team Dynamics, Hanwha Life Esports (Hanwha Life Insurance), DRX, Gen.G Esports and T1 (SK Telecom CS T1). The list remains unchanged from the 10 preferred bidders Riot Games announced in Au

More SportsNov. 2, 2020

Two starters for Bears shortlisted for KBO's top player award for Oct.

The top two starting pitchers for the Doosan Bears have been shortlisted for the top player award for October in South Korean baseball. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced five candidates for the Player of the Month award for October, the final month of the regular season. Right-handers Chris Flexen and Raul Alcantara, the one-two punch at the top of the Bears' rotation, headline the list. Flexen, who'd missed time earlier in the year with injury, capped off his first KBO season w

BaseballNov. 2, 2020

Tottenham's Son Heung-min to join S. Korea for Nov. friendlies

Tottenham Hotspur star Son Heung-min has been named to the South Korean men's national team for upcoming friendly matches in Austria. Head coach Paulo Bento announced his 26-man roster for matches against Mexico and Qatar. Son, who is tied for the Premier League lead with eight goals in seven matches this season, was a no-brainer choice for South Korea's first international matches of 2020. South Korea will first face Mexico at 9 p.m. on Nov. 14 near Vienna (5 a.m. on Nov. 15 in Seoul) at Stad

SoccerNov. 2, 2020