![[OSEN=Gwangalli, Reporter Ji Hyeong-jun] On the evening of the 7th, KT defeated SK Telecom in the finals of the Shinhan Bank Pro League 2009-2010 season, held on a special stage at Busan Gwangalli Beach. KT won 4-2, leveraging three professional Toss players—Woo Jung-ho, Kim Dae-yeop, and Park Jae-young—and Ace Lee Young-ho’s closing performance. This marked a historic achievement for KT, reaching the top of team competition for the first time in 11 years since the team’s founding in 1999. /jpnews@osen.co.kr /Photo=Ji Hyeong-jun](https://thumb.mt.co.kr/cdn-cgi/image/f=avif/21/2026/10/2026101610505613329_1.jpg)
SOOP is moving to revitalize esports by expanding the scale of its StarCraft League, "ASL." It has been confirmed that the company is considering holding final matches at large outdoor venues such as Gwangalli Beach and Gwanghwamun Square, which once symbolized the golden age of esports.
According to IT industry sources on the 17th, SOOP is reviewing Busan Gwangalli Beach and Seoul Gwanghwamun Square among other candidates for hosting next year’s ASL finals. The company aims to recreate a large-scale esports festival that spans generations, similar to how StarCraft leagues held at Gwangalli in the early 2000s attracted crowds of over 100,000 spectators.
Before fully launching outdoor stages, SOOP will also expand its large offline finals. On this day, SOOP set up a special stage at the Jamsil Lotte World Ice Rink to host the ASL Season 22 finals. The venue is prepared with seating for more than 1,000 spectators.
The initiative aims to allow viewers ranging from office workers in their 30s and 40s who grew up with StarCraft to young people and family groups to enjoy the matches together in one space. It also serves as a test case for expanding StarCraft esports, which has been centered on online viewing, back into a large-scale offline spectator culture.
In the Season 22 finals, Yoo Young-jin and Kim Min-cheol will face off in a best-of-seven series. In the semifinals, Yoo defeated Lee Jae-ho, while Kim beat Park Sang-hyun. Yoo is stepping onto the final stage for the first time since Season 14, challenging for his first ASL championship. Kim is aiming for his fifth career title.
SOOP has operated the ASL since 2016. At that time, with the official abolition of the StarCraft Pro League, many predicted that the lineage of domestic StarCraft esports would effectively be cut off. However, SOOP continued the league based on its personal broadcasting platform.
The ASL, which has continued for nearly a decade, is once again drawing the StarCraft fan base back to offline events. As of October last year, the cumulative number of ASL viewers surpassed 200 million. The Season 21 finals held in May at KINTEX in Goyang City sold out its 500-seat capacity immediately after ticket sales began, with more than 1,500 people gathering on-site.
An industry official said, "Currently, there are no pro teams in esports, so there is essentially no professional league. However, perceptions of gaming are gradually improving, and the number of people who play games directly has grown to match those who only watch them on platforms like YouTube. Under these circumstances, esports leagues can certainly develop further."
in TECH
