The first half of the 2023 Esports Enthusiast Competition, which aims to revitalize the culture of living esports at esports facilities across the country, concluded on Sunday (April 16) with the playoffs.

In the first half of the 2023 Esports Enthusiast Games, 46 tournaments were held at esports facilities across the country from April to June, with a total of 449 enthusiasts participating in the official tournaments (29 for StarCraft: Remastered, 284 for Eternal Returns, and 136 for FIFA Online 4). Representatives from the winning facilities of the first half-season competitions in each of the official sports participated in the first half playoffs and workshops held at the Esports Hall of Fame on Saturday, July 15 and Sunday, July 16.

Hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and organized by the Korea Esports Association, the playoffs for the first half of the 2023 Esports Affinity Games began with the StarCraft: Remastered quarterfinals (individual), Eternal Return 18-player round robin (individual), and FIFA Online 4 quarterfinals (individual), and concluded with the finals, which were won by Kwak Hoon-il of OzReserve Gangnam, Min Je-hyun of 1Pro PC Arena Seongshin, and Ha Hyung-seok of OzReserve Gangnam in StarCraft: Remastered, and by Ha Hyung-seok of Eternal Return in FIFA Online 4. The winners of the playoffs received a cash prize of 500,000 won, the runners-up 300,000 won, and the third-place finishers 200,000 won, and all playoff participants received a fellow player package including a bag and gaming gear.

Kwak Hoon-il, the winner of StarCraft: Remastered, said, “I feel like I just won. It’s a lot of fun to participate in these competitions regardless of whether you win or not, and it’s nice to have a good experience.” Also, FIFA Online 4 winner Min Je-hyun said, “It felt different playing offline. Thank you to those who supported me, and it would be great to participate in more club competitions.”

On Saturday, the 15th, a workshop was held for the playoffs. The workshop featured influencers such as StarCraft: Remastered’s Park Jung-seok, Head of OK Savings Bank Brion, Eternal Return’s Ibis Commentary, and FIFA Online 4’s Bang-actor Broadcaster. The workshop started with an introduction to the organization of the club competition, esports facilities, and amateur players, followed by an influencer talk show. During the talk show, the influencers asked each other questions and suggested content, and the influencers talked about the competitions, including the know-how of the competitions to the athletes.

Meanwhile, the second half of the 2023 Esports Club Games will begin in August. The second half of the competition is scheduled from August to October, and the second half playoffs are scheduled for November. The official events will be held in the same three categories as the first half of the competition, 스포츠토토 and you can check the details of the competition and the competition rules for each category on the Esports Arena website.