The Korean e-Sports Association (KeSPA) and Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) will jointly host the first-ever FC PRO FESTIVAL KeSPA CUP. The tournament is set to take place on December 21 (Saturday) and December 22 (Sunday) at the Ibex Studio in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province.

Following the successful conclusion of the 2024 LoL KeSPA CUP earlier this month, KeSPA is expanding its horizons with the inclusion of FC Mobile as a newly designated national team training discipline. This tournament has also been designated as a national team selection data evaluation event, with its results contributing to the selection of players for Korea’s e-sports national team. The move reflects KeSPA’s commitment to fostering fairness and actively addressing the growing number of international competitions.

Representing Korea in the tournament is Soda Hong Ji Hong, the winner of the FC Pro Masters, an EA global competition held in April, alongside Joscar Cho Hwan Joon, who was selected through the Korean national representative selection tournament for FC Mobile. Teams from six countries—China, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Jordan, and Korea—will each compete in pairs, adopting a 2v2 format.

The tournament will feature a group stage on December 21, followed by a top-four single-elimination tournament on December 22. Tickets for the event became available for purchase starting December 12 through Ticketlink.

FC Mobile is rapidly emerging as a global e-sports discipline, with significant growth in regions such as Indonesia, Japan, and Thailand. The game is seen as a strong contender to become an official title in international e-sports competitions, highlighting its competitive potential and broad appeal.

KeSPA aims to use this event as a strategic platform to promote and develop FC Mobile further, enhancing the representation and competitiveness of South Korea’s e-sports national team. The association also plans to expand future tournaments by linking the KeSPA CUP with the PRO FESTIVAL, fostering player development and driving broader engagement with the discipline.

With FC Mobile gaining traction as a global e-sports title, this inaugural FC PRO FESTIVAL KeSPA CUP is anticipated to set the stage for future growth, offering a glimpse into the expanding landscape of e-sports in South Korea and beyond.

Sayart / Jack Lee, wangjb77@gmail.com