Korea emerges as 'Republic of Game'
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Korean national “Overwatch” team players lift the championship cup after winning the “2017 Overwatch World Cup” finals at the Anaheim Convention Center in California, Nov. 4. / Courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment
Korean professional gamers sweep world championships
By Yoon Sung-won
Korean professional gamers are dominating global e-sports circles, winning championship titles in all five events they entered this month.
Korean gamers won titles in Riot Games’ “League of Legends” world championship in China as well as in four events for Blizzard Entertainment’s games including “Overwatch,” “StarCraft II,” “Heroes of the Storm” and “Hearthstone” held in the United States early this month.
Riot Games opened the finals of “2017 League of Legends World Championship” at the Beijing National Stadium on Nov. 4. Two Korean professional gaming teams ― Samsung Galaxy and SK Telecom T1 ― met in the finals again following last year.
Represented by the world’s most popular League of Legends player Lee Sang-hyeok, who is better known by his game nickname “Faker,” SK Telecom T1 was the defending champion with three world championship titles. But Samsung Galaxy defeated them 3:0 this year, winning their second championship title after 2014.
Started in 2008, League of Legends is arguably the most popular e-sport event in the world with a record of more than 7.5 million users playing it at the same time globally. On the back of such popularity, this year’s world championship finals has drawn more than 40,000 spectators at the stadium as well as an estimated 45 million people watching it through live broadcasts and streaming.
“Obviously, Korea has been the powerhouse in League of Legends and is expected to remain in the top spot for some time. Considering the immense popularity of the game worldwide, the brand value generated by Korean professional players and teams is also significant,” a game industry source said.
Blizzard Entertainment also organized world championship finals of its games on the sidelines of its game festival “BlizzCon 2017” at the Anaheim Convention Center in California this month.
In the “2017 Overwatch World Cup,” the Korean national team players defended the title, defeating the Canadian national team in the finals. In the “StarCraft II World Championship Series Global Finals,” Korean professional gamer Lee Byung-ryul defeated another Korean player Eo Yoon-su to win the title.
In the “Heroes of the Storm Global Championship,” Korea’s MVP Black team beat Europe’s Fnatic in the finals while gaming team Grimestreet Frifters won the “Hearthstone Invitational 2017,” thanks to Korean member Baek Hak-jun’s six wins in a row in the online card game.
Members of Korean “League of Legends” professional gaming team Samsung Galaxy celebrate their victory in the “2017 League of Legends World Championship” finals at the Beijing National Stadium, Nov. 4. / Courtesy of Riot Games
While Korean professional gamers are excelling in global e-sports competitions, foreign e-sports clubs backed by major capital in China and the U.S. are growing fast.
China, in particular, is aggressively pushing to foster e-sports both in the public and the private sectors. The General Administration of Sport in China recognized e-sports as one of its official national sports while conglomerates such as Tencent and Wanda Group are pouring in heavy investments.
On such a backdrop, young Korean League of Legends professional gamers including Lee Ho-seong, Hae Sung-min and Lee Dong-wook have already joined Chinese professional teams.
“Chinese enterprises are already tapping into their rapidly growing domestic market to create profits and are recruiting talented Korean professional gamers with generous pay,” said an official of the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA).
A KOCCA survey also showed that 61.9 percent of Korean League of Legends professional gamers are willing to move to an overseas team, with 92.3 percent of them seeking to join a Chinese team.
A similar tendency also takes place in Blizzard Entertainment’s international e-sport competition, dubbed “Overwatch League.”
Among the 12 teams based in major cities around the world such as New York, Los Angeles, London, Shanghai and Seoul, eight teams include at least a Korean professional gamer on their rosters, with three of them consisting only of Korean players.