Nexon’s '2025 ICON MATCH: Return of the Spear, Beginning of the Counterattack' (hereinafter '2025 ICON MATCH'), hosted under the FC Online and FC Mobile brands, has officially concluded with a victory for Shield United.

Held at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 13th and 14th, the event pitted legendary footballers against one another in a classic 'Spear vs. Shield' showdown. The concept was built around FC Spear (the attacking side) seeking redemption against Shield United (the defensive side) following last year’s defeat.

This year saw returning icons like Henry, Drogba, Ferdinand, and Puyol joined by fresh faces including Rooney, Ronaldinho, Gerrard, and Bale. Tactical masterminds Arsène Wenger (FC Spear) and Rafael Benítez (Shield United) took the reins as managers, with the iconic referee Pierluigi Collina overseeing the proceedings on the pitch.

The event drew a massive crowd of over 100,000 spectators across two days, while online viewership peaked at roughly 600,000 concurrent viewers, with a cumulative total of 3.4 million viewers. Merchandise sales were equally impressive, with official jerseys selling out completely at the venue.

In the intense 11-vs-11 main match on the 14th, Shield United edged out FC Spear 2-1 to secure their second consecutive win. Despite Rooney firing FC Spear ahead with a powerful strike, Shield United’s Maicon levelled the score with a header from a Lee Young-pyo cross in the 38th minute of the second half, before Park Joo-ho netted the winner from a Riise pass in the dying moments.

The 13th featured an event match packed with mini-games: a 1-vs-1 penalty shootout, touch challenge, power challenge, and curve challenge. While Shield United claimed the 1-vs-1 shootout, FC Spear dominated the other three, taking the overall event match score to 3:1. Riise was the undisputed star of the power challenge, shattering all 15 panels to ignite the crowd.

Nexon blurred the lines between digital and physical reality, introducing players via a giant screen that mimicked the FC Online card-opening animation. Outside the pitch, the 'ICON PARK' pop-up store offered a variety of attractions that kept both gamers and casual football fans thoroughly entertained.

Furthermore, the real-world results of the two-day event have been reflected in-game, with the '2025 ICON MATCH' class receiving attribute boosts in both FC Online and FC Mobile.

Park Jung-moo, Vice President of Nexon, the executive overseeing the 2025 ICON MATCH, stated, "The ICON MATCH was our way of giving back to the fans who have shown us so much love. We wanted to deliver something truly special with these legendary figures and a diverse program. As a company that crafts dreams, Nexon will continue to push the boundaries of gaming to provide fresh value to our users."

You can find more details on the official FC Online website.