▲ President Moon rooting for the players... former LoL pro, Cpt Jack on the left.



On the 14th (KST), the "Korea-Sweden e-Sports A-Match" was held in the Ericsson Studio located in Stockholm, Sweden. The first ever esports collaboration match between the two countries is to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Korea-Sweden's diplomatic relationship. The President of South Korea, Moon Jae-in and the King of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf visited the stadium to watch the events. Two titles were chosen for the main events: Summoners War and League of Legends.



Right after the first match of the Summoners War ended, President Moon shared some of his thoughts on this esports A-Match. "It was astonishing. Now I know why the world loves esports." He also thanked the players performing on stage. "I want to thank all the players for showing their abilities on-stage. I thought that Korea was the best in gaming, but now I see that Swedish players are very good as well."



President Moon soon proceeded on talking about esports and traditional sports. "Esports is now starting to be recognized as another kind of sports event. It has been selected as a demonstration event for the 2018 Asian Games and the IOC is seeking to create cooperation between esports and traditional sports."



On the relationship between 5G, Sweden, and esports, he said, "I believe that esports is developing rapidly with the recent development in 5G technology. Sweden and Korea are the leaders of the gaming industry and the 5G era." Moon added, "What makes it more meaningful is that the fans from both countries are supporting and communicating with each other. World famous Swedish LoL player, Rekkles visited Korea for a boot camp and he has a lot of Korean fans as well. One of the strengths of esports is that we can communicate even though we have different cultures."



"I hope the two countries, that are leading the cutting edge industry, maintain this partnership in the future." said Moon before finishing his speech.





▲ Players getting ready for game 1 for the Summoners War event.

Images: Korea-Sweden e-Sports A-Match SPOTV live broadcast