Country wins World Cyber Games competition for second year in a row
November 17, 2009
Players at the World Cyber Games 2009 held in Chengdu, China celebrate the close of the four-day game competition on Sunday. Korea won the event this year, bringing home the most medals. Sweden and Germany came in second and third, respectively. Provided by the company
For the fourth time, Korea led the pack in medals at the World Cyber Games, the largest computer game festival on the globe.
Throughout the four-day competition - held this year from Nov. 11 to 15 in Chengdu, China - the Korean team managed to net three gold, two silver and three bronze medals in games including “Warcraft,” “StarCraft” and “Dungeon Fighter,” among others.
Sweden and Germany came in second and third place in the medal haul, respectively.
A total of 600 players from 65 countries gathered in Chengdu for the event, which also drew 82,000 spectators from around the world.
Korea won the competition for the second consecutive year and the fourth time overall in the nine years the games have been held. This year marked the first time that the World Cyber Games were held in China.
“The response in China was phenomenal,” said Kim Hyoung-seok, chief executive officer of World Cyber Games Inc., which operates WCG.
Kim said that although tickets were 50 yuan (8,455 won, $7.32) per person - compared to free admission at WCG competitions held last year in Germany and two years ago in Seattle - three to four times more spectators attended.
The Chinese government designated e-sports as the country’s 99th official competitive sport.
Gaming certainly seems to be growing in popularity in China. Chinese fans even greeted Korean professional gamers as if they were Korean wave celebrities.
This was particularly noticeable during the “Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne” matches, when Korean player Jang Jae-ho - nicknamed “Android Jang” - was greeted by several dozen fans everywhere he went.
Some devotees even held cardboard signs bearing his name, while others sidestepped Jang’s bodyguards and even snuck into the room he was staying in during the games.
Korean players for StarCraft including Lee Jae-dong, Song Byung-gu and Kim Taek-yong also were greeted with the same enthusiasm, as fans of the players held signs with their names throughout the games.
“I was surprised that the fans met us as if we were some kind of celebrities,” Lee said.
Next year’s World Cyber Games will be held in Los Angeles, California in the United States.
By Kim Chang-woo, Cho Jae-eun [jainnie@joongang.co.kr]
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