PUBG eSports, look through the eyes of a fan
Krafton esports student reporters 'Kiki' team interview
In May 2022, Krafton recruited esports college student reporters for college students who love PUBG esports and are interested in content creation. From the 'Pubgie Nations Cup' in June to the 'Pubgie Global Championship' at the end of the year, various PUBG esports on/offline events were held by reporters from various teams. Among them, the krafton blog met four people, Shim So-hyun, Park Jin-yu, Kwon Chae-young, and Ahn Se-yoon, who were active in a team with a unique name called 'Kiki'. We heard the story behind their activities over the past six months and their love for PUBG esports.
nice to see you! Please briefly introduce yourself.
Sohyeon: Hello, I am Shim Sohyeon, the team leader of the Krafton eSports college student reporter team, Kiki. He is majoring in Korean Literature and Sports Science.
Seyoon: My name is Ahn Seyoon, a university student majoring in advertising. As a good opportunity, I am working as a member of the Krafton esports college student reporters. He is primarily responsible for filming and editing video for the team.
Jinyu: Hello, my name is Jinyu Park. I majored in Turkish language and public administration, but I participated in this activity because I was interested in the esports industry, and I am in charge of interviewing and writing on the team.
Chaeyoung: Hello, this is Kwon Chaeyoung of the Krafton Esports University Student Reporter. I am majoring in business administration at school, and I am interested in marketing, so I participated in this press corps activity.
스포츠무료중계
I'm curious about each of you's first impressions of the game PUBG.
Sohyeon: The name PUBG was really famous, so I was familiar with it, but to be honest, I hadn't tried it myself from the beginning. Later, as I became interested in e-sports and found players I liked, I went to a PC room and finally tried it myself. After all, it was very difficult for me (laughs).
Chaeyoung: This game was released when I was in high school. One day after the exam, I went to a PC room with my friends before self-study at night and tried it for the first time. I bravely jumped right into the match without even thinking about practicing first at the training ground. It was very different from other shooting games, so it felt very difficult. Especially in terms of sound, I was constantly startled when I heard footsteps without background music and suddenly heard gunshots (laughs).
Jinyu: It was the first time in 2018 that I went to a PC room and played a duo with a friend. Of course, I couldn't even fire a single shot and just died. I've tried it several times since then, but it's hard to find opportunities to shoot. Apart from my gaming skills, I watched a lot of PUBG esports matches from then on. I also watched a lot of offline matches.
Seyoon: My sister and friends around me play PUBG Mobile a lot, so I started with it. Since I don't have the skills to shoot a gun, I kept hiding and often ate chicken as a fisherman. So even though I wasn’t good at it, I remember having fun whenever I did.
So how did you first come across PUBG esports?
Sohyeon: Actually, the reason I became addicted to PUBG esports is a bit unusual (laughs). I first learned about PUBG esports through a personal broadcast of a professional esports player who mainly plays shooting games. It's a case where I became a fan of the game through the player without much information about the game itself. Originally, I knew of an esports team called 'Gen.G', but I happened to see 'Loki', who was a member of the team at the time, broadcasting on PUBG. It looked really fun (laughs). So naturally, I fell in love with PUBG esports.
Chaeyoung: Before I met PUBG esports, I first encountered esports through the game 'Overwatch'. At that time, a player I liked switched to PUBG esports, and naturally I also looked for competitions or broadcasts. That's Okay. I also came to support the team the player was on. I remember having a lot of fun watching the PUBG Global Invitational (PGI) held in Berlin, Germany in 2018. PUBG esports was in its infancy, so it was difficult to guess who would win, but I think that made it even more exciting.
Seyoon: Unlike the three of you, I was able to experience PUBG esports with a more earnest interest through this college student reporter activity. So, the only time I properly watched the entire tournament was the 'PUBG Weekly Series (PWS) Phase 2' held this year.
What surprised me the most when I first saw PUBG eSports matches was that, unlike other eSports where teams compete against each other, 16 teams collide at once, with over 60 players gathered in one place. It was a scene. I also felt that something was on a larger scale.
Jinyu: I first saw PUBG eSports in 2018, just like the game itself. I already had a favorite team back then. It was a team called 'Night Wolf'. Originally, a PUBG squad consisted of 4 players. Even though the three of us did it, the grades weren’t bad, so I think there was something more to cheer for.
In PUBG eSports, there is a process in which players prepare for battle while farming at the beginning of the game, the risk factor of the magnetic field is clearly revealed, and I felt that the purpose of the game itself was very intuitive. Engaging through gunplay and surviving to become the last survivor is the goal of all players. So, from the first time I saw it, I thought that although breathing was slow, the unique taste of watching was alive.
Like Jinyu-nim said, I think each person has their own charm of PUBG esports. There's a clear difference between simply being interested in something and being able to do it by volunteering for college student reporters like the four of you. What part of PUBG esports attracted you the most and made you apply for this activity?
Sohyeon: I really like the thrilling moments when watching regular sports or esports matches. In PUBG and PUBG eSports, in the process of eating chicken and trying to win the final victory, there is always a 'clutch' play that demonstrates superior skills and judgment than the opponent at the decisive moment. For example, things like superplays where you go solo against a full squad of enemies and win. I think the biggest charm is that I can watch the players or teams I support while being anxious until they survive to the end and eat chicken.
Chaeyoung: I think PUBG esports offers a different kind of tension than other esports. Unlike other events where two teams face each other, as many as 16 teams participate in one match at once, so I don't know which team I'm rooting for will face, and among so many variables, my favorite team You can see how they unfold their strategies and how they overcome difficulties. I like it because the more variables there are, the more tension comes out.
Seyoon: Like Jinyu, I think the biggest attraction of PUBG esports is the intuitive game goal. Survive until the end by using all possible methods, including gunplay. I thought it was highly accessible because even beginners could quickly understand the game and immerse themselves in esports.
Do you have a particular favorite PUBG esports player or team?
Sohyeon: I like Loki the most, who made me fall in love with PUBG esports. Besides that, I am watching with interest, focusing mainly on the teams and colleagues that Rocky is a member of or has been involved in. Rocky has a really great and wonderful career that I can proudly say, 'I'm a Rocky fan' wherever I go, and he is active in the 'PUBG Nations Cup (hereinafter referred to as PNC)' as a Korean national team player. I also have great skills.
But more importantly, he genuinely cares for his fans. I think he is a player who can generously express his gratitude to his fans. Previously, I knew that this was the case through personal broadcasting, but I was able to confirm again that my thoughts were not wrong after meeting and talking in person through this college student reporter group activity (laughs).
Chaeyoung: At first, I cheered for Gen.G a lot. However, when I went to cover the PWS Phase 2 site as a college student reporter, I saw ATA's 'NEFiEX' player play. So I think I thought, 'This player is really good' (laughs).
In eSports, like other professional sports, players change teams frequently, and whenever that happens, it seems that other players from the same team that your favorite player moved to cheer for as well.
Jinyu: I tend to cheer for teams rather than individual players, but I like 'KWANGDONG FREECS' the most. In particular, you won the PWS twice this year, right? Actually, I like teams with good results (laughs).
Seyoon: Besides e-sports, I am also interested in traditional sports. However, in other professional sports, players rarely come back after retiring once, but in PUBG eSports, the 'Hungry (BGP)' team, which played well in the second half with 'Pio' as the main player, was impressive. It was. Even after retiring, I thought that the class would not change seeing how rust-free skills and good fan service were done.
Are there any particularly memorable PUBG esports matches or specific moments?
Chaeyoung: The 2018 PGI Berlin competition is the most memorable. Of course, the player I liked at the time was from Gen.G, so I cheered for that team, but more than that, since it was an international tournament, I hoped that the Korean team would win. It wasn’t that a particular team had a one-sided advantage, but the competition to win was really fierce, so I really enjoyed it. Before this tournament was held in Germany at the end of July, it seems that I was more immersed in myself as I had seen all the competitions of various teams in Korea to win the right to participate.
Jinyu: I am reminded of a scene from a match in 2021 PWS: EAST ASIA Phase 1. At that time, ‘Hansia’ from ‘Afreeca Freecs’ was left alone, hiding in an overturned Dacia vehicle. I still remember this vividly. I think I went back and watched it again and again, even after watching it later. Looking at this really unique scene, I thought that there are quite a few fun entertainment scenes like this in PUBG eSports.
Sohyeon: I would like to pick 'PGI.S', which was held in early 2021, as the best competition I enjoyed from beginning to end. It was really good that Gen.G won the Weekly Finals in Week 5, and in that one match, P.O survived alone and crawled through the grass, creating a really dramatic scene.
스포츠무료중계 working as a Krafton Esports college student reporter. We hope that our activities have helped fans to enjoy PUBG esports.
Chaeyoung: I think it would be nice if there were more events that PUBG esports fans can participate in. We collect the best scenes selected by fans, and we do a lot of viewing parties, but it would be nice if fans could get together and enjoy esports, even if it's not necessarily intuitive.
Sohyeon: I think PUBG eSports is doing a really good job communicating with fans. We use social channels such as Twitter and Instagram well to convey live images of the game to the fans. If there is one wish, regular matches are good, but sometimes it would be nice to have more event matches that players and fans can enjoy in a more light-hearted way. Lastly, as a student who wants to work in the game industry in the future, I really want to say thank you so much for giving me this opportunity!