STAGS in the middle school division and Club H in the open division claimed their respective titles at the 2026 President's Cup Korea Inline Hockey Championship, which concluded Monday in Jecheon, North Chungcheong Province.
STAGS won the middle school division — a five-team full round-robin — on goal difference after finishing level on points with Goyang Twins U15, both sides recording two wins and two draws for eight points. STAGS' goal difference of plus-19 (28 scored, 9 conceded) edged out Goyang Twins U15's plus-13 (20 scored, 7 conceded) to decide the title. The victory denied Hawks, who had won three consecutive tournaments from last December through April this year, a third straight title — and marked STAGS' first championship in nearly two years.
Goyang Twins U15 finished as runner-up and Hawks took third. The two sides had split six titles between them across tournaments from last year through this year and were widely expected to battle for the top spot again — but STAGS upended those expectations. After drawing 3-3 with both Devils and Goyang Twins U15 in their opening matches, STAGS defeated Hawks 5-3 before closing out the tournament with a 17-0 rout of STAGS Ignite. Shin Chae-won (Grade 3, SALT International School, Gyeonggi Province), who recorded five goals and two assists, was named most valuable player. She was particularly dominant in the final match against STAGS Ignite, scoring four goals and adding one assist. The defensive award for the winning team's goalkeeper went to Kim Seon-il (Grade 3, Seongji Middle School, Gyeonggi Province). Ko Tae-yun (Grade 3, Sandeul Middle School, Gyeonggi Province) of Goyang Twins U15 received the outstanding player award, while Hawks' Kim Jae-yul took the encouragement award.
In the open division, Club H claimed the title on the strength of Jo Seung-woo's six goals and three assists, finishing ahead of Scorpions and CCM Evolution. Jo also took the MVP award. The defensive award went to Club H's Kim Mo-mi. The title was Club H's third in a row, following victories at the 45th President's Cup National School and Professional Team Inline Hockey Tournament last December and the 2026 Namwon Korea Open Inline Hockey Tournament. Scorpions' Choi Yeong-min and CCM Evolution's Baek Seung-ju received the outstanding player and encouragement awards, respectively.
In the elementary school division, which ran June 17 through July 3 in age-group brackets, Goyang Twins won the Grade 1-2 division. Club H swept the Grade 3-4 bracket and Hawks swept the Grade 5-6 bracket, each going unbeaten in four matches in their respective five-team fields. Jung Yun-ho (Goyang Twins, Grades 1-2), Lee Chan-i (Club H, Grades 3-4) and Shin Gi-hun (Hawks, Grades 5-6) were named MVPs in their respective divisions.
Meanwhile, a women's exhibition tournament drew three teams competing in a full round-robin, with the Federation Combined Team finishing first ahead of Masblades and Hawks.
Korea Roller Sports Federation President Kim Gyeong-seok attended the matches and the awards ceremony, encouraging players who competed despite the sweltering heat. He said he was pleased to see the inline hockey community continuing to grow, noting that three of the five national tournaments scheduled for this year had now been completed in the first half, with two more to come in the second half. With local governments actively bidding to host national inline hockey events, he said, "this is the most important time to expand the sport's base and raise the level of play," and urged players and stakeholders again to get involved.
tiger@heraldcorp.com
