The famous Idol Star Athletics Championships, a twice-a-year sportsfest that stars the brightest stars in Korean entertainment, is focusing on esports for its 2020 Chuseok Special.

Originally a sub-event under the Star Athletics umbrella, the esports aspect became the headliner for this Chuseok holiday event due to the still ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

This all-new esports event featured PlayersUnknown’s Battlegrounds Mobile (PUBG Mobile) and KartRider Rush+, and started airing on streaming service Viki on October 1. It also simultaneously aired on MBC and its partner networks.

While PUBG Mobile is familiar to many global esports fans, KartRider Rush+ is fairly new. Available on Google Android and Apple iOS devices, the mobile racer just launched last May as the latest iteration of the popular Korean Crazyracing Kartrider franchise.

KartRider Rush+ is developed by Nexon Korea Corporation and has a significant following among K-pop idols.

Among the participants in this K-pop-powered esports event are members of the following groups:

AB6IX
APRIL
CRAVITY
DONGKIZ
(G)-IDLE
GWSN
Golden Child
IZ*ONE
LOONA
Lovelyz
MONSTA X
N.Flying
NCT
NCT Dream
Oh My Girl
ONF
PENTAGON
SF9
The Boyz
WSJN
WEi

Soloists Ha Sung Woon, Kim Jae Hwan, Natty, Park Ji Hoon also participated in the event.

In previous esports contests staged under the Idol Star Athletics Championship banner, NCT Dream reigned supreme in PUBG Mobile during the 2019 Chuseok Special. Former WANNA ONE members, Park Ji Hoon, Kim Jae Hwan, and Ha Sung Woon took the PUBG Mobile crown in the 2020 Idol Star Athletics Championships – New Year Special.

Curious to see who performed the best in this year’s Chuseok esports special? The entire event, comprising two episodes, can be viewed on Viki and KOCOWA now.

Popular K-pop athletics event goes virtual in 2020 Idol Star Chuseok Special