Dplus KIA has officially clinched the inaugural title for the PUBG Mobile category at the '2025 Korea e-Sports League' (KEL) this Sunday, August 31st.

The 2025 KEL PUBG Mobile tournament kicked off on Saturday, May 24th, at the Busan e-Sports Arena. Following a circuit through Gwangju, Busan, and various online qualifiers, the three-month journey reached its climax in Daejeon. The competition saw a diverse mix of regional teams from ▲Busan ▲Gwangju ▲Daejeon ▲Sejong ▲Gyeonggi ▲Jeonnam ▲Gyeongnam ▲Yangju ▲Jecheon, alongside professional rosters like ▲Nongshim RedForce, ▲DRX, ▲Dplus KIA, and PMOC (PUBG Mobile Open Challenge) Season 1 seed holders ▲GNL eSports, ▲eSports From, ▲Mir Gaming, and ▲Love S2.

The finalists entered the decisive stage carrying cumulative points from the previous six days of play: ▲DRX with 9 points, ▲Nongshim RedForce with 7 points, ▲G.N. Restart CG with 6 points, ▲Dplus KIA with 5 points, ▲FN Sejong with 3 points, ▲Jeonnam eSports with 2 points, and Daejeon Game PT, Jecheon Phalanx, GJ EOS, and eSports From holding 1 point each.

Dplus KIA dominated the first day of the finals on Saturday, the 30th, racking up 101 points and creating a 45-point gap over the runners-up, Nongshim RedForce. They continued their momentum during the final day on Sunday, the 31st, as Dplus KIA secured back-to-back victories in matches 4 and 5, finishing with a total of 173 points. They eventually left the second-place team, FN Sejong (105 points), trailing by a 68-point margin.

Park 'Favian' Sang-cheol of Dplus KIA remarked, "Winning with such a substantial lead over the second-place team is truly meaningful. By addressing the complacency we felt after our last victory, everything seemed to click into place today." He added, "Our focus is now on the PMGC (PUBG Mobile Global Championship). We intend to refine our weaknesses to earn our spot, and hopefully, push all the way to a global championship title."

For their efforts, Dplus KIA received a 10 million KRW grand prize and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Award. FN Sejong, taking second place, walked away with 6 million KRW and the Korea Creative Content Agency President's Award, while third-place DRX received 3.2 million KRW and the KeSPA Chairman's Award. Notably, all 16 participating teams were awarded PMGC points equivalent to their final standings. Furthermore, Dplus KIA's Go 'OSAL' Han-bin was named MVP, taking home a Sidiz GC PRO gaming chair as a bonus.

The 2025 KEL is a region-based e-sports league designed to cultivate local talent and energize the industry. By partnering with e-sports arenas in Busan, Gwangju, Gyeongnam, and Daejeon for offline events, the league aims to provide a boost to local economies. Crucially, the data collected from the PUBG Mobile category of the KEL will serve as a key metric for selecting the national representatives for the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.