HÀ NỘI — Nexon Co -  one of South Korea's leading online gaming companies, has wrapped up the online Qualification Round of its AI-based strategic programming contest, the NEXON Young Programmers Cup (NYPC), and confirmed the finalists advancing to the Final Round.

This year, NYPC was reimagined from a traditional algorithm-focused competition into a strategy-based contest testing participants' ability to apply AI, drawing an enthusiastic response. Notably, in Việt Nam - selected for the first time as an overseas host region - nearly 1,000 university students registered for the newly introduced 'Master Track'. The Master Track evaluates participants' capacity to anticipate and counteract opponent strategies through simulated matches between student-designed AI agents.

Through the Master Track Qualification Round, held from June 29 to July 8, about 70 participants secured a place in the Final Round. Several top-performing teams from Việt Nam also advanced to the Final Round, and Nexon will provide full support for their visit to South Korea, including round-trip flights and accommodation.

The Final Round will take place in Seoul on August 29, featuring the offline competition followed by an awards ceremony. The contest offers a total prize pool of KRW 50 million (US$34,895). In addition to awards by ranking, Master Track winners will also be given the opportunity to participate in an internship programme at Nexon.

The contest is being run in partnership with Nexon's Vietnamese development subsidiary, Nexon Dev Vina (NDVN), and Nexon will continue to share Final Round schedules and related updates with Vietnamese participants through its official Facebook and Zalo channels.

Nexon Foundation Chairman Kim Jung-wook said: “Through the Qualification Round of NYPC's new AI-strategy format, we were able to see the capabilities and growth potential of the participants,” adding, “We look forward to seeing all finalists showcase their full potential in the finals and take another step forward in their growth.” Further details on the Final Round are available on the official NYPC website. — VNS