Man City legends try a little gaming with Gen. G

Premier League champions Manchester City and Korean Esports team Gen. G Esports have a lot in common, as both sides are passionate about their sports, sponsored by Puma and have secured many titles, according to City ambassador Joleon Lescott

Gen. G Esports players chat with Manchester City ambassadors Shaun Wright-Phillips and Joleon Lescott during a gaming event held at Lotte World in southern Seoul on July 28. [GEN. G ESPORTS]

Last season’s Premier League champions Manchester City and Korean Esports team Gen. G Esports have a lot in common, as both sides are passionate about their respective sports, are sponsored by Puma and have secured many titles, according to City ambassador Joleon Lescott.

Lescott is a former City legend who played for the English champions from 2009 through 2014, during which he won the Premier League twice and FA Cup once.

He traveled to Korea with the team last month as ambassador and took part in a gaming event “Gen City Game Night,” — a combination of “City,” and “Gen. G,” — held at Lotte World in southern Seoul on July 28.

The event was part of City’s schedule in Korea, where they traveled to play a preseason game against Atletico Madrid in the Coupang Play Series — an annual exhibition series — in western Seoul.

Lescott and City legend Shaun Wright-Phillips — who played for the club from 1999 through 2005 and 2008 through 2011 — played an online football game against the Korean pro gamers.

It was a game between two teams that rose to significant prominence in recent years.

From left: Manchester City ambassadors Shaun Wright-Phillips and Joleon Lescott chat during a gaming event held at Lotte World in southern Seoul on July 28. [GEN. G ESPORTS]

City have won the Premier League seven times since 2011 and also won the Champions League for the first time in the club’s history last season, while Gen. G won back-to-back League of League of Legends (LOL) Champions Korea titles this year.

The gaming event was able to take place after Gen. G agreed a deal with City while the team was in Britain for an Esports tournament in May — City’s decision to visit Korea was made in April.

City’s involvement in the Esports industry is nothing new, as the English club already own an Esports FIFA team as well as a Fortnite Battle Royale — a survival game in which players fight to survive through the end of a game — team.

Wright-Phillips said that the event was a fantastic collaboration between two excellent teams.

He also chatted with Gen. G gamers and praised Korean footballers, saying that Son Heung-min of Tottenham Hotspur is a fast player with pace and may be able to beat him in a race, although it would have been the other way around if he was still a player.

Gen. G players [SPORTIZEN]

He added that City surpassed local rivals Manchester United in the past decade after beating United in the semifinals of the 2011 FA Cup and told Gen. G he hopes City’s winning spirit carries over as the team participates in the LOL World Championship in Korea later this year.

BY PARK RIN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]