LCK more competitive, but roster flexibility needs to be improved

A professional volleyball player has abruptly retired after admitting to assault allegations from his school days, the latest black eye to the sport reeling from a snowballing bullying scandal. Park Sang-ha of the Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Bluefangs announced his retirement through his V-League club Monday evening. The decision came three days after Park's middle school classmate accused the player of beating him up in 1999 in an online post. Park, 34, admitted that he had assaulted

Professional volleyball's growing popularity in South Korea came crashing down over the Lunar New Year long weekend, as the league's star players got embroiled in a scandal over their checkered pasts as bullies. The V-League, run by the Korean Volleyball Federation (KOVO), saw cable TV ratings for some big matches rival or even surpass those of baseball, the nation's No. 1 sport, in recent years. It is now reeling from allegations, since acknowledged by the implicated individuals, that some of

As the decade-old League of Legends Champions Korea matures, rookie players are replacing several veteran players this year with the introduction of the franchise system. The LCK teams have shown a preference for new, younger faces -- players with excellent mechanical skills to lead them for multiple years -- rather than experienced veterans who have only a few years left to play as their mechanical skills go downhill with age. Longtime veterans who represented the LCK such as Kuro, Smeb, Gori

TY nears military service, but esports journey continues

The memorial museum dedicated to commemorating the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games opened its doors on Sunday, about three years after the opening ceremony of the quadrennial sporting event. The three-story museum was built at the site of the main Olympic Stadium, where opening and closing ceremonies of the Games were staged, in PyeongChang, a resort town located 180 kilometers east of Seoul in Gangwon Province. It houses some 800 items, including a replica of the Olympic torch, commemor

From social media account troubles to player misconduct, teams in League of Legends Champions Korea are under fire for their glaring lack of professionalism. The latest trouble involves the Twitter account of 2020 world champions DWG KIA. Fans noticed that DWG’s official Twitter account had liked a post with pornographic content, making the post appear on its news feed around 1 a.m. on Jan. 26. About an hour later, DWG issued an official statement saying its account had been hacked. Lat

BANGKOK (AFP) -- Teenage prodigy An Se-young pushed to victory in a tough game against former world champ Carolina Marin on Friday in badminton's World Tour Finals -- her first win over the Spaniard in Bangkok. The world’s top players have been competing in the Thai capital for three consecutive tournaments in a biosecure “bubble”, culminating in this week‘s World Tour Finals. The young South Korean had lost to reigning Olympic champion Marin during their previous two

Those thinking of playing overseas must be prepared to work hard to adapt, says Ignar of Evil Geniuses

DWG to go head-to-head against T1 in biggest match of the week

The race for the top position at the national Olympic committee has been marred by mudslinging, accusations and subsequent denials, with the four candidates busy taking shots at one another rather than making concrete pledges to improve sports in the country. Lee Kee-heung is going for a second four-year term as the head of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC). He's up against three opponents: Lee Jong-kul, a five-term legislator and former head of the Korea Basketball Association; Y

When South Korea’s Damwon Gaming lifted the Summoner’s Cup in Shanghai in October, fans of League of Legends Champions Korea were filled with joy. For two years, LCK teams had failed to reach the finals, instead looking on as Chinese teams from the LoL Pro League won. As Damwon fulfilled the long-held wish of LCK fans for a win, fans also feared another exodus of Korean players to the LPL. After LCK team Samsung White won the World Championships in 2014, all the starting members of

What you need to know about 2021 LCK

When the foundation for esports in Korea was established in the early 2000 with the launch of a StarCraft league, esports remained far from being considered among “real sports.” Pro gamer as an occupation was a new concept, and player wages were not sufficient to make ends meet. In fact, pro gaming was not considered an actual career in the beginning, as players had to pay additional taxes because their earnings were considered unearned income. Perceptions about esports have changed

League of Legends world champion Damwon Gaming continued its dominance, rolling over the other LoL Champions Korea teams in the Korea e-Sports Associations Cup held over the Christmas weekend. Damwon headed straight to the finals after sweeping the group stages 4-0 and dropping only one game to Hanwha Life Esports with Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon and Kim “Deft” Hyuk-gyu in the semifinals on Saturday to go 3-1. The KeSPA Cup is an annual tournament hosted by KeSPA in the off