- International e Sports Federation (IeSF) will host the brand new e Sports Olympic
- Approx. 150 gamers from 20 countries will take part in the competition
The world’s first international e sports competition will be held in Korea.
‘2009 IeSF Challenge’is held for global e sports’integrated development and extension of IeSF’s member nation. There will be hundreds of government-approved e sports companies in this competition and it will be a chance for Korea to prove its top position in the e sports industry.
‘2009 IeSF Challenge’will be held at O2 Resort in the City of Taebaek, the Province of Gangwon, from December 10(Thursday)-14(Monday). It is hosted by International e Sports Federation (IeSF) and Korea Culture and Content Agency (KOCCA) and organized by the City of Taebaek, with support of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST), the Province of Gangwon, SK Telecom and High1 Resort.
In this competition, approximately 150 gamers from 20 different countries will make appearances. Games that will be played include two official games, WarCraft 3 (individual competition) and FIFA Online 2 (individual competition), and one exhibition game, A.V.A. (team competition).
There will be a round of 64 for FIFA Online 2 national representative players and a group drawing on Dec. 6 and 9 each. The matches will start from Dec. 11 right after the opening ceremony, following the welcome party for players on Dec. 10. In the opening ceremony, Shinbae Kim, the President of IeSF, Jonggi Park, the Mayor of the City of Taebaek and other staffs from MCST and KOCCA will make appearances. Moreover ?占폝our Minutes,??a popular girl group, and a B-boy team will show celebration performances.
The elimination round and the quarter- and semi-final round will be held on Dec. 11 and 12. In the final round, on Dec. 13 at 1 PM, the best gamers in the world will compete for the championship for the first year of the competition.
During the competition, there will be an IeSF general meeting for approval of new member nations and an announcement for standardization of worldwide e sports. IeSF is planning to attract new member nations for establishment of global e sports.
They are planning to host annual IeSF Challenge in the future, and in the general meeting, will discuss Korea to be the host country in the next 2-3 years for IeSF and IeSF Challenge to settle down.
Wonseok Oh, the Secretary-General of IeSF, stated ‘this competition will strengthen the international competitiveness and influence of IeSF and could be the perfect opportunity for IeSF possibly to be the authentic international organization as IOC or FIFA in the future’and ‘IeSF will help member nations to obtain approval of their government.’
Other programs planned within this competition include a professional StarCraft gamers’competition (Dec. 12) and various events for visitors as a visitors’game competition, a costume-play photo session, a photo session and a winner guess competition. Outside O2 Resort, a snow festival featuring snow and ice sculptures will double the visitor’s joy.
The City of Taebaek, also, will make a large-sized sculpture for celebrating the first IeSF Challenge, and do a dirt shovel ceremony for that.
