The world’s first blockchain-based golf tournament, ‘Wemix Championship 2023’, was successfully completed. This tournament was held at Haeundae Beach Golf & Resort in Busan on the 18th and 19th as the final championship that marks the end of the 2023 Korea Ladies Professional Golf (KLPGA) Tour season. In this competition, in which the top 24 players in the Wemix Point ranking participated, a significant amount of prize money was paid in the form of NFT (non-fungible tokens), and NFT technology was applied throughout the competition planning, including not only prize money, but also entrance tickets and gallery prizes, creating a never-seen-before event. It attracted attention as a new concept golf tournament.
The winner of this competition was Yewon Lee (KB Financial Group), who won the grand prize and prize money at this year’s KLPGA Tour, and the prize money was paid in Wemade’s virtual asset ‘Wemix’. The total prize money for the competition was 1 million Wemix, and the final winner was awarded a prize NFT containing 250,000 Wemix.
Currently, Wemix is traded at 2,300 to 2,400 won per piece on major domestic and international virtual asset exchanges, so the prize money for the final winner, professional Lee Ye-won, is about 600 million won. It is about twice the winning prize of 306 million won at the Hanwha Classic, the highest prize money tournament in KLPGA history.
Competition tickets available for pre-purchase were issued only in ticket NFT format, and Dynamic NFT technology was used. Accordingly, the NFT contents were updated in real time when using the various benefits included in the ticket. In a special channel opened on PAPYRUS, a decentralized communication platform based on Wemix, players could share their performances and communicate in real time with fans. .
Wemade plans to continue to use blockchain technology to create and revitalize a blockchain-based participatory sports culture that can be enjoyed by both players and fans who enjoy various sports. In addition, we plan to expand the application of ‘real world event NFT’ to sports competitions as well as entertainment performances in the future.
