The strongest contender in the first half of 2025 in boat racing is Kim Wan-seok. On the 19th, at the Misa Boat Racing Park, he won the 2025 KBOAT Championship with a perfect inside turn, crossing the finish line first.
During the event held at the Misa Boat Racing Park on the 18th and 19th, 12 top scorers from this year's first round to the 23rd round competed for supremacy. As the second largest tournament following the year-end Grand Prix, many fans were focused on anticipating thrilling matches from star players, and the first preliminary round took place.
Initially, Eo Seon-kyu was expected to be the top contender, but he couldn’t take charge of the flow due to a late start by 0.28 seconds, and his turns were not clean. Taking advantage of Eo Seon-kyu's slip, Kim Wan-seok launched a successful counterattack and quickly seized the lead. Eo Seon-kyu, Kim Min-cheon, and Park Jong-deok continued to compete for the remaining 2nd and 3rd places. Among them, Kim Min-cheon, who lagged in the motor acceleration battle, was pushed back to 4th place at the 2nd lap 1st turn mark, while Eo Seon-kyu and Park Jong-deok battled fiercely for 2nd place up to the 2nd lap 2nd turn mark. Demonstrating focus, Eo Seon-kyu crossed the finish line first, with Eo Seon-kyu and Park Jong-deok advancing to the finals in 2nd and 3rd places respectively.
Meanwhile, in another preliminary race, Joo Eun-seok, Kim Min-jun, and Lee Dong-jun passed the finish line in succession to advance to the finals. In lane 6, Kim Eung-sun had a remarkable start reaction time of 0.04 seconds, while in lane 4, Kim Min-gil had a time of 0.07 seconds. Lane 5's Seo Hwi also attempted a turnaround with a powerful race deployment, but it was not enough to catch up with them.
As a result, in the final held on the 19th during the 15th race, the participants in order by lane were Kim Wan-seok, Joo Eun-seok, Kim Min-jun, Eo Seon-kyu, Park Jong-deok, and Lee Dong-jun.
With a tense atmosphere, the race began. All six players, having completed their waiting actions, began to accelerate, with Kim Wan-seok taking the lead early on. Confident in his start, Kim Wan-seok showcased a perfect inside turn, securing the lead early on, while Eo Seon-kyu, aiming for a counterattack, solidified his 2nd place at the 1st lap 2nd turn mark. Competing fiercely for 3rd place were Joo Eun-seok, Kim Min-jun, and Lee Dong-jun, but maintaining calm until the end, Lee Dong-jun took 3rd place by a narrow margin.
Kim Wan-seok reclaimed the championship title at the Wangjungwangjeon, winning 15 million won in prize money after three years, while 2nd place Eo Seon-kyu and 3rd place Lee Dong-jun received 10 million won and 7 million won respectively.
During the awards ceremony, Kim Wan-seok expressed his joy by raising the championship trophy high, stating, "Every time I win, it feels like a dream, and my heart is overwhelmed. It was quite challenging to match the start timing due to the racing conditions, such as the assigned motorboat and the weather, but I am satisfied with the good result."
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