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Universe League
South Korean reality competition series From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Universe League (Korean: 유니버스 리그) is a 2024–2025 South Korean reality competition show created by SBS. The show followed the process of creating a new boy group. It premiered on SBS TV on November 22, 2024, and aired every Friday at 23:20 (KST). In the finale on January 24, 2025, which was broadcast live, the show announced the final nine (instead of eight) members who would debut as AHOF (abbreviation for All-time Hall Of Famer) and will be managed by F&F Entertainment.[2]
The show served as a sequel to Universe Ticket, this time featuring all male contestants.
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Production
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Conception and development
Universe League was developed as the second season to Universe Ticket, which formed the girl group Unis.[3][4] The second season was first teased during the Universe Ticket finale on January 17, 2024, with an promotional video revealing the title Universe League.[5] On January 22, F&F Entertainment, in partnership with Prism Studios,[6] confirmed their involvement and announced that preparations for the second season were underway, with plans to air the show on SBS later in the year.[7] Building on the success of its predecessor, the format was restructured to focus on team-based competition, drawing inspiration from professional sports leagues.[3][4] F&F Entertainment CEO Choi Jae-woo emphasized this shift in focus, stating that the goal was to highlight collaboration within the teams rather than individual popularity.[8] Additionally, the format incorporated a system of starting and bench players, designed to "encourage participant's competitive drive and motivation to succeed".[a][3] The ultimate goal for each team is to win the Prism Cup, securing their debut as a professional idol group.[4]
Casting
Casting for Universe League began on April 22, 2024, with applications open to individuals born before 2011, setting the minimum age requirement at 14 years. There were no restrictions on career, affiliation, or nationality, allowing both trainees and independent artists to participate. In addition to direct applications, the production team encouraged viewers to recommend potential contestants through the show's official social media channels, with submissions accepted until June 30, 2024.[6] To generate interest in the auditions, the production team released a series of promotional videos in June 2024, featuring Universe Ticket mentors Hyoyeon and Kim Se-jeong,[9][10] as well as artists like Oneus,[11] ONF,[12] STAYC,[13] Unis's Nana, and WayV's Xiaojun.[14] These videos were shared on the show's official platforms to broaden the reach of the casting call.
After the application period closed, the final roster of 42 contestants was revealed on October 15.[15] At the show's press conference on November 19,[16] producer Lee Hwan-jin explained that the decision to limit the contestant pool to 42 was made to allow for more selective casting, focusing on factors like appearance, talent, and star potential. This smaller roster was intended to ensure each contestant would have sufficient screen time over the show's 10-episode run.[17]
Meanwhile, as preparations for the main competition continued, SBS began unveiling the lineup of senior K-pop artists who would serve as the show's host and team directors. The competition is divided into three main teams: Team Beat, Team Groove, and Team Rhythm.[18] On August 8, Jay Park was announced as the host, chosen for his prior hosting experience on the first season of The Seasons.[19] This was followed by the confirmation of Lee Chang-sub as the team director for Team Groove,[4] Yugyeom as the team director for Team Beat,[20] and Ten and Yangyang as co-directors for Team Rhythm.[21] On October 16, producer El Capitxn was also announced as a co-director for Team Beat, joining Yugyeom.[22] Additionally, WayV members Kun[23] and Xiaojun made appearances as guest directors for Team Rhythm,[24] while rapper Punchnello served as a guest director for Team Beat.[25]
Competition format and voting
The competition followed a multi-stage structure referred to as PRISM,[26] an acronym representing the first five stages of the show: Pick, Represent,[27] Intercept,[b][28] Seven, and Move. The final stage was titled WAR, short for We Are Ready. Contestants, referred to as players (Korean: 선수[29]), progressed through these stages by competing in both individual and team-based challenges. The competition began with a draft process during the Pick stage, where team directors selected players to form their respective teams. The next three stages—Represent (Round 1),[30] Intercept (Round 2),[28][31] and Seven (Round 3)—featured performance-based rounds. Player rankings and eliminations were determined through a combination of live audience scores, global online voting, and decisions made by team directors. Online voting was conducted through the KTOPSTAR and HIGHER aps, as well as the official SBS website.[26] The final two stages, Move and WAR, served to finalize the lineup of debuting members.[32][33]
The Pick stage was divided into two parts.[29][34] In the first part, the 42 contestants were divided into seven groups of six, with each group performing as a unit. After each performance, team directors selected their "first picks" (Korean: 퍼스트픽[29]) from the performing group. If multiple directors chose the same player, the player chose which team to join. Directors not selected by the player then moved on to recruit their second picks from the same group. This process continued until all teams filled their initial starting lineup.[29] In the second part of the Pick stage, referred to as the "bench test" (Korean: 벤치테스트[34]), the 21 remaining contestants who had not been selected underwent one-on-one assessments by the team directors. Based on these evaluations, directors selected additional players to form their bench units. Contestants not chosen during this phase were eliminated from the competition.[34][35] This completed the team formation process and initiated the performance-based stages of the show.
In Represent (Round 1),[27] both the starting lineup and bench unit of each team performed songs released by their respective team directors in front of a live audience. Matches were held between starting lineups and between bench units.[30][36] Audience members scored individual contestants after each performance.[30] The highest-scoring contestant from each team was named MVP, and individual scores were totaled to determine the team's score. The combined scores of each team's starting lineup and bench unit determined the overall team rankings for the round.[30][37] Intercept (Round 2)[28][31] introduced original songs produced by each team director for their respective starting lineups. Each starting lineup competed in a head-to-head match against a bench unit from another team that selected the same song. The winning unit earned the right to officially record and release their version of the song on streaming platforms.[31] Team rankings for this round were based on a both audience scores and online votes[38] collected during the first global voting period, held from November 11 to November 17.[39] In Seven (Round 3), each team presented two performances, with the team directors selecting seven-member units for each.[38] Contestants not selected for either performance received a score of zero from the audience for that round.[40] Rankings were again determined by a combination of audience scores and online votes,[41] with the second global voting period held from November 22 to December 21.[30]
After each performance round, cumulative individual scores—either based on audience scores alone or in combination with online voting—determined each player's placement within their team. This resulted in internal team reshuffling, in which contestants could be moved between the starting lineup and the bench unit.[37][38][41] Following the reshuffling, yellow cards were issued to lower-ranking teams.[34] The second-place team received three yellow cards, assigned to its three lowest-ranked members, while the third-place team received six yellow cards.[37] Any contestant who accumulated two yellow cards was eliminated immediately.[38] After eliminations, team trades were conducted. The team director of the first-place team was allowed to trade two players from their team with players from the second- and third-place teams. The team director of the second-place team was permitted to trade one player with the third-place team.[37][38][41]
In the Move stage, only seven players from each team advanced to the final stage, totaling 21 finalists.[32] Selection was based on a combination of online votes from the third global voting period,[42] held from December 21, 2024 to January 11, 2025, and team directors' selections. The number of players each team could retain was determined by its overall ranking after Rounds 1 to 3. The first-ranking team retained five members, based on the five highest-voted players; the second-ranking team retained three; and the third-ranking team retained one. Team directors then filled the remaining roster spots in order of team ranking. Contestants not selected at this stage were eliminated.[32] This led into the final stage, titled WAR or We Are Ready, where each team performed twice. The winning team was determined through final global voting, conducted from January 18 to January 24. Along with the winning team, the top-ranked contestant from each of the two non-winning teams also joined the debut lineup, resulting in a nine-member group. The name of the debut was announced as AHOF, an acronym for All-time Hall Of Famer.[33]
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Contestants
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A total of 42 contestants participated in the show, including agency trainees, former and current idols, and independent artists from South Korea, Japan, China, Thailand, Australia, and the Philippines.[15] Referred to as "players,"[29] their English names are listed below as presented on the official website.[43]
Color Key:
| Final members of AHOF | |
| Contestants eliminated in the final episode | |
| Contestants eliminated in the third elimination round | |
| Contestants eliminated in the second elimination round | |
| Contestants eliminated in the first elimination round |
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Episodes
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Overall ranking
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 | This section may contain an excessive amount of intricate detail that may only interest a particular audience. (February 2025) |
Ranking summary
The rankings were based on various methods. Round 1 was based solely on on-site votes, Round 3 was a combination of both online and on-site votes, while Round 2, the pre-finale ranking, and the final round were all based solely on online public votes.
Color Key:
| New Top 9[c] | |
| Eliminated Contestant |
Round 1
Player rankings are based on votes from a live audience of 300 during the Round 1 performances. Three players from the 2nd place team and six from the 3rd place team receive Yellow Cards. A second Yellow Card in any mission results in elimination, regardless of ranking.
Key:
 - |
Yellow Card (1) |
Round 2
Player rankings are based on votes from the first voting period (Nov 11–17, 2024) before the show aired. As before, three players from the 2nd place team and six from the 3rd receive Yellow Cards. A second Yellow Card in this mission results in immediate elimination, regardless of ranking.
Key:
| - |
Yellow Card (1) |
 - |
Yellow Card (2) |
Round 3
Player rankings are based on votes from the second voting period (Nov 22–Dec 21, 2024) and on-site votes from Round 3 performances. As before, three players from the 2nd place team and six from the 3rd receive Yellow Cards. A second Yellow Card in this mission results in immediate elimination, regardless of ranking.
Key:
| - |
Yellow Card (1) |
| - |
Yellow Card (2) |
Final round
The team with the highest combined score from the final voting period (Jan 18-24, 2025) and the final live voting period (during the episode airing) will claim the prestigious Prism Cup for their team, securing debut for all seven members. On top of the selected team, an additional two members would be added to the debut lineup. The player with the most votes from each of the other teams would also join the debut group. The team would become a nine-member group, aptly named AHOF (All-time Hall of Famer).
Color Key:
| Debuting Contestant |
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Discography
The theme song "We Ready" was recorded and performed by the contestants. It was released on November 1, 2024, on digital music platforms.
Singles
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Reception
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Viewership ratings
According to Nielsen Korea, Universe League recorded an average nationwide audience share of 0.5% during its run from November 2024 to January 2025. The program's highest-rated episode reached 0.7%, while the lowest fell to 0.2%. The final episode, which aired in January 24, recorded a rating of 0.5%.[44] The program drew limited domestic viewership during its run.[45][46]
Business impact
The program was produced by F&F Entertainment in partnership with Prism Studios and SBS,[6] as part of the company's strategy to expand into the K-pop industry. According to a company representative, the combined production cost of Universe League and Universe Ticket was approximately ₩20 billion. They stated that high initial costs were expected due to the company's early stage of development, and that profitability would likely follow if the groups gained sufficient popularity. The company projected a shift to a profitable model within a typical three-year investment timeline.[45]
A market analyst expressed concern about F&F Entertainment's ability to manage the financial demands of idol group production, citing the volatility of the entertainment industry and the dominance of established agencies such as HYBE, SM, YG, and JYP. In this context, the relatively low ratings of University League have raised questions about the company's growth strategy.[45] However, others in the industry noted that survival program ratings do not necessarily determine the long-term success of the groups they produce. Industry comparisons have been drawn to Zerobaseone and Enhypen, both of which debuted through low-rated programs and later achieved notable commercial success, especially overseas.[46]
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Aftermath
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The final group AHOF (All-time Hall of Famer) is managed by F&F Entertainment and expected to promote for a yet-to-be-announced duration. They debuted on July 1, 2025, with the EP Who We Are.[47]
Other contestants, other activities
- Some contestants returned to their original groups:
- Kim Joo-hyoung (11th) returned to NINE.i.
- He left the group on March 11, 2025.[48]
- Kim Joo-hyoung (11th) returned to NINE.i.
- Some contestants left their companies or joined new ones:
- Jang Kyung-ho (10th) and Keum Jin-ho (19th) joined PI Corporation.
- James (30th) joined Xebis Entertainment.[49]
- Some contestants will debut or debuted in new boy groups or released music as solo artists:
- *JL (1st) debuted as a solo artist with the single album 'Alon' with a title track of the same name on June 6, 2025.
- Yuito (18th) is a member of trio unit, Bestted.[50]
- Anyul (29th) who technically already debuted as a child soloist prior to the airing of the show, released his first single 'Heart On Fire' on April 2, 2025.[51]
- Kim Hyo-tae (35th) was confirmed to be added to the lineup of FC Entertainment's pre-debut boy group, ADAP on October 31, 2025.
- Some contestants participated in modeling activities:
- Some contestants participated in other survival shows:
- Xie Yuxin (24th),[53] He Junjin (32nd),[54] and Jiang Fan (39th)[55] were contestants on Mnet's Korean survival show Boys II Planet. Xie Yuxin and He Junjin were both eliminated in the second episode after ranking 108th and 87th respectively, and Jiang Fan was eliminated in the fifth episode after ranking 63rd.
- Li Zhiwei (36th) was a contestant on SBS's Korean survival show B:My Boys.[56] He was eliminated in the tenth episode, after ranking 19th.
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Notes
- Indicates contestants who had never placed in the Top 9 in any prior elimination rounds or ranking announcements.
- Although Chih En and Daisuke ranked 10th and 14th respectively in public votes, they debuted as part of Team Rhythm, being the winning team. Jang Kyungho and Kim Joohyoung, both of Team Groove, ranked eighth and ninth in public votes, respectively.
- Li Zhinuo was eliminated during the pre-finale ranking despite ranking ninth as the public voting result only gave five slots at maximum and Team Rhythm, despite being given the maximum slots, had maxed out their slots due to the number of contestants in the team at a higher rank. The remaining slots were selected by the directors, who were unaware of the rankings during the time of selection.
- Maximum of 400 votes per performance
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References
External links
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