Mnet's Street World Fighter: Director's War spectacularly opened the curtain on the first-ever "director credit" war in history, proving both ratings and buzz from the very first broadcast.
The first episode of Mnet's Street World Fighter: Director's War (hereinafter "SWD"), which premiered at 10 p.m. on the 18th, presented a breathless survival competition from the tense first meeting of 10 world-class choreographers to the pride-staked "1:1 signature mission." In the brutal rule that required them to steal each other's signature choreography, unexpected reversals repeatedly overturned predictions and delivered dopamine to living rooms.
The broadcast not only ranked first in its time slot including cable and general programming (AGB Nielsen, based on the entire metropolitan area), but also topped the 20-49 male and female ratings in the same time slot, signaling the start of a blockbuster hit. It especially heated up online, sweeping first and second place on TVING's real-time popular live chart.
The 10 directors that day (Nain·Renan·Back Kooyoung·Baby·Baby Zoo·Simeez·Minjun Jeong·Ingyoo·Kasper·Hash) faced off in a "1:1 signature choreography battle" in which they had to recreate and steal their opponent's signature choreography in two hours before the 'last run' involving 400 dancers.
The first match was brutal. In the fated rivalry over aespa's "Whiplash" rights, Simeez defeated Renan with a shocking unanimous 9-0 score. Next, in the brotherly match between Back Kooyoung and Kasper, who once worked together at SM, Back Kooyoung stunned the audience with a 9-0 landslide victory.
The biggest upset came from the youngest, Minjun Jeong. Labeled a "co-director" and relatively underrated, Minjun Jeong pulled off a stunning 8-1 comeback win against mega-performance master Hash, completing a perfect "underdog revolt." Even among the choreographers on site, praise like "genius, genius" erupted.
Elsewhere, Baby Zoo narrowly defeated Nain, and despite being edged out by the public judges, Ingyoo overturned the choreographer vote to beat Bada, the original creator of "Smoke." Bada, whose signature choreography was taken, showed tears and foreshadowed a fierce retaliation.
As a result of the first round, Simeez·Back Kooyoung·Baby Zoo·Ingyoo·Minjun Jeong initially secured the "choreographer" credits. But since the true owners of the director credits can change through the large-scale mission 'last run,' which mobilizes 400 dancers, the defeated choreographers also ground their teeth, saying, "We'll show our brains."
[Photo] Provided by Mnet
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