LCK generation change, while Faker and Deft hit milestones

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

Feb. 11, 2021

[Herald Interview] Korean StarCraft 2 legend Trap ready to hunt for gold in 2022 Asian Games

It seemed South Korea’s overwhelming dominance in StarCraft would last forever, until American Protoss player Alex “Neeb” Sunderhaft came out of nowhere and became the champion of the KeSPA Cup in 2016, becoming the first non-Korean in 16 years to win a premier StarCraft tournament on Korean soil. Cho “Trap” Sung-ho, who fell to Neeb in the KeSPA final, became the first Korean pro gamer to concede a trophy to a foreigner on home turf in the history of the StarCr

Feb. 9, 2021

Memorial museum commemorating 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics opens

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

Feb. 7, 2021

Lack of professionalism from LCK teams angers esports fans

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

Feb. 6, 2021

Badminton's teen sensation An finally wins against Spain’s Marin

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

Jan. 29, 2021

Korean LoL players who join teams abroad face very different environments

With Korean players enjoying success in the League of Legends World Championships since 2013, teams from all around the world are keen on importing Korean talents to help them enter and win the big tournament. Koreans were the most represented nationality at the world stage every year since 2013, with the exception of 2014 when LMQ, consisting of all Chinese players, played for North America. Two of the five players in the two Chinese teams that won the world championships in 2018 and 2019 wer

Jan. 26, 2021

Can T1 put a break on DWG KIA’s dominance?

All eyes are on the second match of League of Legends Champions Korea on Friday between Damwon Kia and T1 as the two powerhouse teams clash for the title of the strongest in the LCK. T1, undoubtedly the greatest team in LoL history, will face Damwon Kia, the current world champion, in a best-of-three series. The match will be Damwon’s first game of the season. The team showed that they are still one of the strongest teams in the world as they dominated the KeSPA Cup earlier this month,

Jan. 15, 2021

Election campaigns for top S. Korean Olympic job marred by mudslinging

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

Jan. 15, 2021

Korean LoL talent drain to China continues

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

Jan. 13, 2021

New franchise system heralds changes at LCK

Longtime fans following League of Legends Champions Korea, the 2021 LCK spring season will have many changes with the implementation of the franchise system. For those new to the LCK, it presents a good opportunity to get into LoL esports. With the opening match of the season between Gen.G Esports and KT Rolster set for Wednesday, here’s what you need to know. Ten teams have qualified for the LCK franchise system: Afreeca Freecs, DWG Kia, DRX, Fredit Brion, Gen.G, Hanwha Life Esports, KT

Jan. 12, 2021

Esports one step closer to gaining sports status

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

Jan. 5, 2021

Damwon Gaming dominates KeSPA Cup

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

Dec. 27, 2020

Fan vote determines LCK All-Stars players’ champions for All-Stars

The three in-game characters that League of Legends Champion Korea players will use to play against a Chinese team in the 2020 All-Stars on Saturday was revealed by Riot Games on Wednesday. The characters, known as champions, were selected through an online vote by over 16,200 fans that took place from Dec. 12-14. The 2020 LoL All-Stars is an annual LoL event where professional players, popular streamers and retired pros come together to play in a series of exhibition matches. The five partici

Dec. 17, 2020

Veteran LCK players retire in the offseason

While the League of Legends Champions Korea offseason is a time of many roster changes and player transfers, it is also when many veteran players decide to retire from professional play. Two members of former team ROX Tigers, Lee “Kuro” Seo-haeng and Kang “GorillA” Beom-hyun, announced their retirement this week, while former world champion Lee “Crown” Min-ho announced he was ending his professional career earlier this month. Kuro and GorillA both reached t

Dec. 13, 2020

2020 LoL World Championships viewings reach more than 1 billion hours

More fans than ever went online to watch the LoL World Championships this year, according to Riot Games, with over 1 billion hours watched worldwide during the games that took place from Sept. 25 to Oct. 31 in Shanghai. The Play-in Stage, where the representative team from weaker regions such as Oceania, Latin America, Brazil, Japan, Turkey along with fourth seed teams of China and Europe and third seed team of North America among others competed for a spot in the Group Stage, also reached rec

Dec. 10, 2020

Abusive curling coaches, officials banned for life

South Korean curling officials and coaches who abused the national women's team members for years have been slapped with lifetime bans. The Korean Curling Federation (KCF) announced Monday that its former Vice President Kim Kyung-doo, his daughter Kim Min-jung and her husband Jang Ban-seok will no longer be allowed to set foot in the sport. The Kims were once considered the royal family in South Korean curling. Kim Kyung-doo was a founding member of the KCF in 1994. Kim Min-jung was the head

Nov. 30, 2020

LCK player salaries remain secret, but rumors continue

As the stove league continues in the League of Legends Champions Korea offseason, roster changes and transfers are being announced in preparation for the franchise system that will start in spring. However, player salaries and transfer fees, on which everyone keeps an eye every year during the stove league, are once again kept hidden, revealed only through rumors, without any official statements. Despite the secrecy surrounding the exact price, the figures being tossed about this year are at

Nov. 29, 2020

Following suspension, Olympic skating champion wants to enjoy competition again

Two-time Olympic speed skating gold medalist Lee Seung-hoon returned to the ice on Wednesday, hoping to enjoy being on the ice again after serving his one-year suspension over allegations of physically assaulting teammates. Lee skated in the men's 5,000m race at the Korea Skating Union (KSU) President's Cup National Speed Skating Championship at Taeneung International Rink in Seoul. It was his first race since the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. He finished fourth at 6:53.28, well off his com

Nov. 25, 2020

Bwipo, T1 apologizes to Effort

Online game League of Legends esports team T1 posted an official apology to its player Lee “Effort” Sang-ho, and European team Fnatic player Gabriel “Bwipo” Rau apologized to both T1 and Effort on Thursday following a series of online controversies surrounding a leak about a potential transfer in the stove league during Effort’s stream. The controversy started when a private chat between T1 members was shown in Effort’s stream on Nov. 3. The chat implied tha

Nov. 20, 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

Nov. 19, 2020