Only the Top 10 Qualify for the Finals... 'GROC Championship Final' at 9.81 Park Jeju to Be Held in December

Contestants Must Obtain a Master License and Pass Regular Rounds to Qualify
9,382 Participants and 16,058 Races This Year... Total Prize Pool of 40 Million Won

The Gravity Racing tournament, where participants must secure a spot in the finals by earning a qualifying ticket, will take place in Jeju.

Participants are taking a commemorative photo at the closing ceremony of the 'GROC 2025 Championship Final' held last year at 9.81 Park Jeju. This year's Championship Final will be held on December 6. DSM

DSM, a next-generation leisure platform company, announced on September 28 that it will hold the 'GROC (Gravity Race Of Champions) 2026 Championship Final' at 9.81 Park Jeju on December 6.

The GROC Championship Final is the last round of the annual gravity racing league. Having started with the first event in 2019, this year marks its eighth edition. Participants cannot enter the finals just by trying once; instead, they are required to achieve a record above a certain threshold and then secure a spot by passing through regular rounds.

To qualify for the finals, contestants must first obtain a Master License in 'RACE 981', the signature activity at 9.81 Park. Only those who rank in the top 10 of the regular rounds—held in four-week intervals—are eligible to advance to the Championship Final.

The standard for acquiring a Master License is not fixed. It is automatically adjusted based on the records of top racers, meaning that as the average record of participants improves, the bar for obtaining the license is raised accordingly.

This year, the number of participants has also increased. So far, 9,382 people have participated in eight rounds, completing a total of 16,058 races. On average, about 2,000 races were run per round. With two rounds still remaining, the event has already reached 95.6% of last season's total number of races.

The rate of repeated participation is also high. Of the 80 finalists confirmed this year, 41 also qualified for the finals last year. Since the inaugural event in 2019, 54.6% of all finalists have reached the Championship Final more than once. There was even a participant who visited 9.81 Park Jeju 34 times in a single season to try to advance to the finals.

The total prize pool for this year is 40 million won. For the individual competition, first place receives 3 million won, second place 1.5 million won, and third place 1 million won. For the team competition, first place takes 1.5 million won, second place 1 million won, and both third and fourth places receive 600,000 won each. Further prize money is distributed according to results for subsequent rankings as well.

On the day of the tournament, in addition to racing, there will be a program allowing participants to preview the gamification system that will be implemented next year. New content slated for '9.81 Incheon Airport', which is scheduled to open next spring, will also be showcased in advance.

Kim Jongseok, CEO of DSM, stated, "The value of pursuing experiences through direct physical effort and record-breaking is once again being highlighted. We will continue to invest in and develop technology to establish gravity racing as a new type of sport that combines IT technology, gaming, and physical activity."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.