The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) will host the 2024 KBO DREAM CUP Independent Baseball Tournament at the KBO Baseball Center in Hwaksung, Gangwon-do, starting on July 7.
The KBO DREAM CUP Independent Baseball Tournament, the second edition of the tournament after last year’s, aims to give amateur players who were not drafted or released by professional teams a chance to fulfill their dreams once again and to improve the performance of independent baseball players. Jin Woo-young, who won the MVP award for the Paju Challengers in the inaugural tournament last year, was selected by the LG Twins in the fourth round (38th overall) of the 2024 KBO Draft.
The tournament will feature independent baseball teams registered with the Korea Baseball Softball Association (KBSA), with a total of eight teams (Gapyeong Wales, Goyang Wonders, Seongnam McPies, Suwon PineEagles, Yeoncheon Miracle, Paju Challengers, Pocheon Monster, and Hwaseong Corriyo), one more than last year, competing in a quarterfinal tournament to determine the winner.
A total of 191 players are expected to participate, including 39 professional players such as Kook Hae-sung (Seongnam MacPies, former Lotte), Jung Jin-ki (Seongnam MacPies, former NC), and Lee Kebin (Goyang Wonders, former SSG).
All games will be played over four days from June 7-10 at the Hwaksung KBO Baseball Center, with the semifinals and finals taking place on June 8 and June 10.
The KBO will broadcast the semifinals and finals live on SPOTV, as well as on the KBO’s official YouTube channel, SPOTKI, and SPOTV NOW.
The total prize pool for the tournament is 43 million won, with the winning team receiving a trophy and 20 million won, the runner-up team receiving a trophy and 10 million 사설토토 won, and the top three teams receiving 5 million won each. The MVP of the tournament will receive a prize of 1 million won, and the winners of the best pitcher, best hitter, manager, and catcher awards will receive 500,000 won each.
The tournament is sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Korea Sports Promotion Organization, Hwaseong County, and Dong Aotsuka, with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism covering the entire cost of the tournament, Hwaseong County providing the baseball field and indoor practice facility at the Hwaseong KBO Baseball Center, and Dong Aotsuka providing water and pocariswear to keep the players hydrated.