Fans cheer as players take the stage for the League of Legends Champions Korea Cup Grand Finals at Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Arena, Sunday. Korea Times photo by Lee Yeon-woo
HONG KONG — When Gen.G clinched its 2026 League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) Cup title on Sunday with a dominant 3-0 victory over BNK FearX, the reaction inside Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Arena was immediate and thunderous. Fans shouted, some leaping from their seats while others wiped away tears.
Although the two teams who faced off for the title were Korean, much of the crowd was not.
“I really had faith in Gen.G,” said Holly, a Hong Kong resident who began following the LCK and Gen.G star player Jung “Chovy” Ji-hoon six months ago.
What began as an effort to help her learn Korean has since turned into a passion. She now watches nearly every match online, drawn by the players’ dedication and competitiveness. She rarely watches the Chinese professional league.
The sizable crowd that filled much of the 10,000-seat arena on Sunday reflected the global reach of Korea’s premier esports league.
The LCK is widely regarded as the strongest and most prestigious regional competition in the entire League of Legends esports scene, boasting a record number of international titles and superstar players such as Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok.
Holly, left, and her friend Cheuk pose with hand-drawn signs supporting Gen.G at Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Arena, Sunday. Korea Times photo by Lee Yeon-woo
“The league is similar to the English Premier League in football,” one fan wrote on social media platform Threads.
Tickets for Saturday’s semifinal and Sunday’s final sold out in under two minutes after online booking opened. On Sunday, most team merchandise sold out within half an hour, before the match even began.
For Riot Games, the developer and organizer of the league, staging the LCK Cup finals overseas was part of a broader push to connect with global fans. More than 60 percent of LCK viewership now comes from outside Korea, according to the company.
In a statement to The Korea Times, Riot Games said the event reflected a wider trend of sports leagues holding events abroad for international audiences. MLB, for instance, has opened recent seasons with games in Seoul and Tokyo.
“The biggest hope is that the global fan experience expands from simply ‘watching’ to actively ‘participating,’” it said. The company declined to confirm whether overseas finals would become a regular occurrence for the LCK.
Fans write messages of support for League of Legends professional players and teams at Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Arena, Sunday. Korea Times photo by Lee Yeon-woo
The move has stirred unease among some Korean fans, who questioned why the culmination of a domestic league competition was held outside the country.
“I appreciate that they’re trying something new, but I think the overseas final should have been announced to fans with more advance notice,” said Park Won-geun, who has been rooting for T1, another LCK team, for seven years.
Wi Jong-hyun, a professor at Chung-Ang University and head of the Korea Game Society, said the fact that the LCK has been “built by Korea’s fan base and by Korean players” should be taken into greater consideration.
“Removing its biggest moment from Korea entirely may leave domestic fans feeling blindsided and somewhat betrayed,” Wi said.
Wi noted that major sports leagues rarely hold championship matches overseas and said he believes Riot Games should have staged the preliminary rounds abroad instead to meet its intended goals.
“I cannot help but wonder what kind of favorable deal they reached with the Hong Kong side,” Wi added.
Fans line up to purchase team merchandise at Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Arena, Sunday. Korea Times photo by Lee Yeon-woo
Frustration also surfaced over logistics, with ticket sales opening before it was known which teams would advance to the semifinals and final. Some fans voiced concern about having to book match tickets, flights and accommodation without knowing whether the team they supported would make it to the final.
When T1 — the league’s most popular flagship franchise — failed to reach the final, resale prices dropped sharply, the South China Morning Post reported. The tickets were nonrefundable under any circumstances, according to booking websites. On the online marketplace Carousell, one seller advertised “LCK tickets dirt cheap,” offering finals tickets priced at $1,188 Hong Kong dollars ($152) for HK$700.
Still, fans’ devotion to the league remained strong.
Oscar, a Hong Kong resident who has supported Faker for nearly a decade, wore his team jersey to the arena despite T1’s absence.
“It would have been great if Faker had made it to the final,” he said before the match. “But today I’m rooting for Chovy. I think he deserves to win.”
A fan holds a hand-drawn sign reading “Welcome to HK” before the League of Legends Champions Korea Cup Grand Finals match begins at Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Arena, Sunday. Korea Times photo by Lee Yeon-woo
His girlfriend, Gladys, who became a T1 fan about six months ago, said they began planning how to secure tickets as soon as they heard the final would be held in Hong Kong.
The couple said they understood the frustration among Korean supporters.
“But for us this is very exciting,” Gladys said. “Korean players are the best in League of Legends.”
