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President's Cup Amateur eSports Tournament Held in Changwon

The 14th Presidential Cup Amateur eSports Tournament finals were held at Changwon Sports Park Changwon Gymnasium in Gyeongnam.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Seryeong] On the 20th, the curtain rose on the finals of the 14th Presidential Cup Amateur eSports Tournament at Changwon Gymnasium, Changwon Sports Park, Gyeongnam.

This competition, which determines the strongest amateur eSports player of the year, was hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and jointly organized by Gyeongsangnam-do, Changwon Special City, and the Korea eSports Association.

The tournament, started in 2007 as the first nationwide official amateur eSports competition to promote balanced development of eSports and expand the amateur eSports base, was elevated to the Presidential Cup in 2009.

Held as an on-site event for the first time in three years since 2019, the tournament featured about 200 players who placed first and second in the preliminary rounds held in 16 cities and provinces nationwide since June.

Before the matches on this day, the regional preliminaries, held both online and offline across 16 regions nationwide throughout July starting from Chungcheongbuk-do on July 16, saw a total of 1,230 participants competing for their skills.

Through the regional preliminaries, regional representatives were selected for each game: one team (5 players) for League of Legends, one team (4 players) for PUBG Mobile, and two players for KartRider.

From this day, over two days, players will compete to determine the top players in four official and demonstration events: League of Legends (LOL), PUBG Mobile, KartRider, and the demonstration game Eternal Return.

The top three players in each category will receive awards from the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the President of the Korea Creative Content Agency, and the President of the Korea eSports Association, respectively. The overall winning city or province will receive the Presidential Award trophy for the tournament champion.

For spectators, the venue was equipped with a racing motion simulator, a virtual reality (VR) experience zone, nostalgic games, a Pump It Up (DDR) machine, and an arcade game zone featuring claw machines.

Various on-site events were also prepared, including cosplay teams dressed as game characters and roaming throughout the venue.

Mayor Hong Nampyo said, “eSports has undoubtedly established itself as a culture today, and there is even a saying in the eSports world, ‘Koreans VS Others,’ reflecting Korea’s traditional strength in eSports. We will continue to do our best to contribute to the activation of eSports in the future.”