League of Legends Champions Korea has crossed the halfway point of the summer season, finishing the initial round-robin pairings and starting the first week of the second round last week. For the 10 teams in the LCK, the ultimate goal of the summer season is to emerge from the playoffs and qualify for the World Championships. However, how the World Championships will play out remains to be seen as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause disruptions. With the second biggest tournament in LoL,

The Toronto Blue Jays have made official what had been a foregone conclusion: Ryu Hyun-jin will start Opening Day. The Blue Jays announced Sunday (local time) that the South Korean left-hander will take the mound against the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday, the first day of the truncated, 60-game season, at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. Ryu had been widely expected to start the original Opening Day in Toronto on March 28, before the coronavirus pandemic forced Major League Baseball (ML

When the dust settled following eight knockout matches at the nation's largest football tournament, there were no upsets. Top-flight clubs that took on lower-tier opponents all advanced to the quarterfinals of the FA Cup on Wednesday night. FC Seoul of the K League 1 defeated the K League 2 side Daejeon Hana Citizen 4-2 on penalties, with coach Choi Yong-soo prevailing over his predecessor Hwang Sun-hong. In three other K League 1 vs. K League 2 matchups, the upper-tier teams all prevailed.

Tottenham Hotspur's South Korean star Son Heung-min has scored in his second straight match. Son opened the scoring against Newcastle United in the Spurs' 3-1 victory in Premier League action at St. James' Park in Newcastle, Britain, on Wednesday (local time). It was Son's 11th goal in the league and 18th goal in all competitions this season. Son had also scored against Arsenal on the weekend. Those 18 goals plus 12 assists in all matches give Son a new career high in the combined goal-assist

It wasn't supposed to come this early. No, when Kiwoom Heroes' outfielder Lee Jung-hoo got to work with his team trainers during the offseason, the idea was to put on muscle so he could start hitting with more power in about two to three years. The 2017 Rookie of the Year in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) had already been one of the league's premier contact hitters, boasting bat-to-ball skill that's almost unparalleled. Since his debut, Lee leads all KBO players in batting average (.34

By many measures, the Kiwoom Heroes have had one of the best bullpens in South Korean baseball so far this season. But there's more to that story: Their bullpen has also been the most overworked, never more so than in July, and the heavy load appears to be taking its toll. The Heroes suffered a three-game sweep against the Kia Tigers over the weekend series that extended to Monday due to Sunday's rainout. It dropped the Heroes to 4-7 in July, tied for the second worst record of the month in t

Jakob Mebdi, the first non-Korean head coach in the League of Legends Champions Korea, is proving that importing foreign talent can work in the Korean esports scene game after game. Mebdi is also known by his game name “YamatoCannon,” which he started using as a League of Legends esports player.  When Sandbox Gaming announced the hiring of Mebdi as head coach before the summer season, many were surprised at the organization’s bold decision. Although some game indust

The two best clubs in South Korean baseball so far this season will square off this week, with the first-place NC Dinos looking to put some distance between themselves and the second-seed Kiwoom Heroes. The Dinos will wrap up their six-game Seoul road trip with a three-game set against the Heroes at Gocheok Sky Dome, beginning Tuesday. The Dinos lead the season series 4-2. Prior to Monday's slate, the Dinos had the best record in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) at 39-17-1 (wins-losses-t

The view from the top is always nice, but Ulsan Hyundai FC understand there is still a lot of football left this season. Ulsan returned to first place in the K League 1 table following a 3-1 victory over Daegu FC on Sunday. The away victory in Daegu, 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, lifted Ulsan to 26 points, one ahead of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. Jeonbuk eked out a 2-2 draw against Seongnam FC on Saturday after going down 2-0 and have now been held winless in two straight matches. Ulsan had

Son Heung-min has reached yet another milestone in the Premier League. Son scored a goal and set up the winner in Tottenham Hotspur's 2-1 victory over Arsenal at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Sunday (local time). He now has 10 goals and 10 assists for the season, becoming only the second Premier League player to reach double figures in both categories in 2019-2020. The South Korean star has now scored in double figures in his fourth consecutive Premier League season. Arsenal opened

The Kiwoom Heroes staged their second come-from-behind victory over the Samsung Lions on Thursday, prevailing 4-2 in the rubber match of their three-game midweek series at home. The Heroes took care of business with a three-run fifth at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, as they improved to 35-22 for the season. The Lions fell to 30-27. Kiwoom starter Eric Jokisch is now 8-2 after scattering eight hits -- tied for his season high -- across seven innings and allowing two earned runs. He has now thrown

In an about-face, a triathlete banned for 10 years for allegedly assaulting a late teammate has admitted to his charges and apologized to the teammate's surviving family. Kim Do-hwan, who's accused of abusing Choi Suk-hyeon while they were competing for the Gyeongju City Hall semi-pro club, visited a memorial park in Seongju, about 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Thursday to pay respects before an urn containing the remains of Choi Suk-hyeon. Choi was found dead on June 26 after endurin

The batting average leader in South Korean baseball has been ruled out for up to three weeks with injuries to both legs. The Kia Tigers said their second baseman Kim Sun-bin will miss time with a bruised right ankle and strained left quad. He will be re-evaluated after a couple of weeks, the Tigers added. Kim is leading the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) with a .378 average. He won the batting title in 2017 by hitting .370. Kim suffered the injuries on Sunday, after tripping up over the l

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors saw their lead at the top of the K League 1 table shrink to just one point over the weekend, following a combination of their rare loss and a victory by their biggest rival club. Jeonbuk fell to Sangju Sangmu 1-0 on Sunday, with Kang Sang-woo converting a 75th-minute penalty to hand Jeonbuk only their second loss of the season. It was Jeonbuk's first "L" since May 30, when they dropped to Gangwon FC, also by the score of 1-0, and they remained at 24 points. A

Kiwoom Heroes' slugger Park Byung-ho blasted his 300th career home run in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) on Sunday. Park became the 14th player, and fifth active hitter, to reach that milestone with a two-run home run off KT Wiz starter Kim Min-su in the top of the fifth inning at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, 45 kilometers south of Seoul. Park turned on a 2-2 curveball and sent it over the center field wall, cutting the deficit to 7-3. It wasn't nearly enough, as the Heroes ended up losing 10