KRAFTON announced on the 23rd that it will host the e-sports national competition 'PUBG Nations Cup (PNC) 2025' for 'PUBG: Battlegrounds' (hereafter referred to as Battlegrounds).
PNC 2025 will be the largest ever held. The tournament period has been extended from the previous 3 days to 5 days, and the number of participating teams has increased from 16 to 24. Eight teams, including Korea, will advance directly to the final stage starting on the 25th based on their performance in the previous year's tournament, while the remaining 16 teams will begin their journey from the survival stage, which will take place over two days on the 23rd and 24th.
The head coach of the Korean representative team, which has won consecutive championships in the 2023 and 2024 tournaments, is Kim Sung-min, known as 'Flick.' The roster includes 'Salute' Woo Je-hyun, 'Seoul' Jo Gi-yeol, 'Gyu-min' Sim Kyu-min, and 'Raining' Kim Jong-myung.
A total of 30 matches will be held during PNC 2025, with 6 matches each day. Rankings will be determined by combining kill points and placement points earned from all matches. The total prize pool is set at a base of $500,000 (approximately 690 million won), with additional distribution to participating teams based on their final rankings from a portion of the revenue generated from sales of PNC 2025 winner prediction event items.
To celebrate the hosting of PNC 2025, the 'PUBG Nations Lounge' will be set up in the venue's outdoor space from the 25th to the 27th, displaying the trophy awarded to the winning team of this tournament, uniforms from the 24 participating teams, and bulletproof helmets decorated in each team's symbolic colors. Additionally, a fan signing event with some of the participating players is scheduled to take place on-site.
Special performances will take place during the final stage. On the first day of the final stage, the 25th, the beatbox group 'Beat Pella House' will perform, and on the last day, the 27th, global artist 'aespa' will present the stage for their collaborative song 'Dark Arts' with Battlegrounds.
An online event will be held providing various items, including PNC 2025 commemorative skins, when watching PNC 2025 matches through the official Battlegrounds channels on Chijijik and SOOP. Notably, during the 3 days of the final stage, the event will offer the 'aespa Emote' item for a limited time.
All matches of PNC 2025 will start at 6 p.m. and will be broadcasted through the official Battlegrounds e-sports YouTube, Chijijik, SOOP, and Naver TV. More details about Battlegrounds e-sports can be found on the official website.