KOVO Cup 2023 was hotter than the heatwave… ‘Men’s attendance up – Women’s record for most spectators in a single match’

The 2023 Gumi Dodram Cup Professional Volleyball Tournament (KOVO Cup) has come to an end, with volleyball fans’ enthusiasm even hotter than the heat wave.

The 2023 Gumi Dodram Cup Professional Volleyball Tournament, which ran for 16 days from July 29 to August 13 at the Park Jung-hee Gymnasium in Gumi, concluded with GS Caltex winning the women’s title and OK Financial Group winning the men’s title.

With more than 36,000 spectators in attendance, the tournament was characterized by the performance of young players on the men’s side. For the first time in the tournament’s history, players in their second year as professionals swept the individual awards. Shin Shin-jin, who was drafted by OK Financial Group in the first round of last year’s rookie draft, led his team to victory, including a game-high 34 points in the finals, and was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player (MVP). This is only the second time in history that a second-year player has won the MVP honor, after Hyundai Capital’s Song Jun-ho was the 2013 Cup MVP.

Also on the runner-up team, Samsung Fire rookie Park Sung-jin (4th overall pick in the second round) was named the MIP (Most Improved Player) after scoring 30 points in the finals against OK Financial Group. OK Financial Group’s Lee Jin-sung, the seventh pick in the second round of the last draft, won the Rising Star Award after averaging 8.6 points in the tournament, along with a timely blocked shot.

The men’s team rebounded from last year’s tournament by mobilizing more spectators. During the 15 games, the team mobilized a total of 12,387 spectators and an average daily attendance of 1,548 spectators, which is about 4% higher than last year’s total and average daily attendance.

The final match, Samsung Fire vs. OK Financial Group on August 13, had the highest attendance with 2285 spectators, followed by the opening match, Korean Air vs. Woori Card on August 6, with 1826 spectators each.

In terms of viewership, the tournament benefited from the invitation of Japanese team Panasonic. While the men’s average viewership was similar to last year’s tournament at 0.89% to 0.88%, the semifinal match between Panasonic and OK Financial Group on August 12 drew 1.25%, the second highest viewership for a men’s match in the history of the Cup. The opening match between Korean Air and Woori Card on Aug. 6 followed with 1.10%, while the final match between Samsung Fire and OK Financial Group on Aug. 13 was the third highest-rated match with 1.07%.

The women’s competition continued its popularity from last year. While a total of 36,716 fans attended the men’s and women’s tournaments, the women’s team attracted 24,329 fans over the 15 matches, an average of 3041 fans per day, bringing the stadium to life.

The July 30 match between Heungkuk Life and IBK set the record for the highest attendance of the tournament with 3200 fans, while the August 5 women’s final between GS Caltex and IBK drew the second highest attendance of 2679 fans.안전놀이터

Viewership declined slightly. The average viewership rate was 0.93%, just under 0.99% for the last professional volleyball tournament, the Suncheon-Dodram Cup 2022. However, the final match between GS Caltex and IBK on August 5, broadcast by terrestrial broadcaster KBS 2TV, reached a peak viewership of 1.49%. The August 2 match between Pepper Savings Bank and KGC Ginseng Corporation was second with 1.15%, and the August 4 semifinal between Hyundai E&C and GS Caltex was third with 1.14%.