5 Reasons To Look Forward To Today's "2020 Idol Star eSports Championships – Chuseok Special"

Oct 01, 2020

MBC’s “2020 Idol Star eSports Championships – Chuseok Special” is almost here!

In place of the beloved “Idol Star Athletics Championships,” which could not be held indoors this Chuseok due to recently reinstated social distancing guidelines, MBC will be airing two spin-off competitions over the Korean holiday. In addition to a brand-new dog agility competition, MBC will air the popular eSports event as its own stand-alone Chuseok special tonight.

With the special just hours away, here are five reasons to look forward to this year’s unique competition—and an exciting new set of preview photos from the show!

1. A PUBG event with a star-studded lineup of competitors, including former champions

Get ready for an exciting showdown between former champions: NCT Dream, the winners of the PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) Mobile group tournament at the “2019 Idol Star Athletics Championships – Chuseok Special,” will be returning this year in order to reclaim their victory.

Meanwhile, former Wanna One members Park Ji Hoon, Ha Sung Woon, and Kim Jae Hwan—who teamed up to take the win at the “2020 Idol Star Athletics Championships – New Year Special” earlier this year—will also be returning to defend their title.

Other idols competing in this year’s PUBG Mobile tournament will include SF9, The Boyz, IZ*ONE, (G)I-DLE, LOONA, N.Flying, PENTAGON, ONF, Golden Child, AB6IX, GWSN, DONGKIZ, and CRAVITY.

2. A brand-new KartRider event with an equally star-studded lineup

In addition to the popular PUBG Mobile tournament, the “2020 Idol Star eSports Championships – Chuseok Special” will also feature another game: the mobile version of KartRider.

Members of NCT, MONSTA X, Oh My Girl, WJSN, Lovelyz, WEi, IZ*ONE, SF9, PENTAGON, N.Flying, APRIL, ONF, Golden Child, and AB6IX will be competing in the KartRider event, along with soloist Natty.

As an entirely new event, the KartRider tournament has an extra element of suspense: it remains to be seen which idols will prove to be the most skillful racers and emerge victorious at the end of the night.

3. Fun interactions between different idol groups

One of fans’ favorite things about the “Idol Star Athletics Championships” is getting to see the interactions between various idol groups, and the “2020 Idol Star eSports Championships – Chuseok Special” won’t disappoint.

Not only will idols interact with each other as they go head-to-head, but some of the competitors have even teamed up with other groups: MONSTA X’s Minhyuk and Kihyun will form a team with PENTAGON’s Hui and Wooseok, while Natty will join forces with her fellow “Idol School” alum Jo Yu Ri and her IZ*ONE bandmates Choi Ye Na and Kwon Eun Bi. Other groups banding together for the event will include Oh My Girl and ONF, WJSN and APRIL, as well as SF9 and N.Flying.

4. A thrilling competition mixed with unexpected hilarity

Super Junior’s Shindong and trot singer Hong Jin Young, who will be hosting this year’s event as MCs, agreed during filming, “This is the most entertaining eSports competition I’ve ever seen.”

In addition to a nail-biting competition that will keep viewers at the edge of their seats, the upcoming special will also feature some unpredictably hilarious moments that you might not expect to see during an eSports tournament. Some of the idols turn out to be talented gamers with fierce competitive streaks, while others… not so much.

Some idols will stand up and randomly start dancing in the middle of an intense PUBG battle; others will wage a fierce war for last place in the KartRider tournament. As the MCs put it, “The competition is so much fun to watch that the time flies by before you know it.”

5. A safe competition that puts health first—and happens to look good on camera

In order to prioritize the health and safety of the competing idols and their staff, filming for the “2020 Idol Star eSports Championships – Chuseok Special” took place outdoors. The competing idols were also separated by protective booths as a precautionary measure.

Although the new structure of the set was designed with safety in mind, MBC reports that the combination of the booths’ bright lights and the wide outdoors came together to form a photogenic visual that is certain to delight viewers. “For the safety of the participating idol athletes, we set up competing booths outdoors so that they could abide by social distancing guidelines,” said the producers of the special. “But with bright, flashy lights, we were able to add the element of beauty as well.”

They continued, “We ask that you cheer on all of the idol athletes who worked hard to entertain viewers and fans, and please make sure to check out the unique charms of the new ‘Idol Star eSports Championships – Chuseok Special’ by tuning in.”

The “2020 Idol Star eSports Championships – Chuseok Special” airs on October 1 at 5:40 p.m. KST and will be available with English subtitles on Viki.

In the meantime, check out more photos from the upcoming special below! (You can also check out the previous set of preview photos here.)