This year, the annual POSTECH-KAIST Science War (PKSW) was hosted at KAIST, from Sept. 19 to 20. It was held under the slogan “Let’s Flip!” reflecting the determination to overturn past losses and claim victory. Although the overall score was a 5:2 loss, POSTECH secured long-awaited victories in baseball and the Science Quiz, and came away with renewed determination in close matches, a result that fuels anticipation for the next PKSW.

Over 250 supporters and 50 preparatory committee members attended from POSTECH, filling the KAIST Sports Complex to full capacity as the opening ceremony began. After the welcome address from KAIST, the cheerleading groups of each school, CHEERO and ELKA, performed in turns and energized the crowd with a special joint performance as a finale.

The first two matches, e-Sports (League of Legends) and the AI game, took place at the Daejeon E-Sports Stadium. In League of Legends, both sides were evenly matched early-game, but KAIST captured the first two rounds and secured their first win. KAIST triumphed in the AI game as well, where POSTECH usually held the upper hand in previous years.

The last match of the day was soccer. Despite the rain, the game fortunately went on without incident, and the passionate cheers from CHEERO and POSTECH supporters remained undeterred by the harsh weather. KAIST led the head start with a 2:0 score, but POSTECH made a dramatic comeback in the second half, and evened the score. After a close match, POSTECH unfortunately conceded another point with a 3:2 final score. Julia Schmitt, a German exchange student at POSTECH, commented that her favorite moments were during the climax of the soccer match. “The game went through even with the rain, and the entire vibe was insane,” she said, “I feel like POSTECH put up a good fight, and next year, we will definitely defeat KAIST.”

The second day started off with the baseball match, one of the most intense highlights of this year’s PKSW. With a staggering final score of 8:4, POSTECH’s baseball team, Tachyons, emerged victorious. At the bottom of the sixth inning, after victory was secured, the entire crowd rushed onto the field to share the joy of POSTECH’s first win. This victory was especially significant, as it was the first ball sports that POSTECH won in the past five years (including the online POKA Science Festivals during COVID-19).

For the next game, Science Quiz, each team from POSTECH and KAIST had to not only answer each question correctly but strategically place reward cards, essentially playing a game of both knowledge and tactics. POSTECH took the second victory of the day with a score of 105:85. This was also a very meaningful result because unlike KAIST, POSTECH did not have a club specialized in Science Quiz and had difficulty gathering the team, but seized victory at the end of the day.

The last match of this year’s PKSW was basketball. POSTECH played fiercely and tenaciously, keeping the audience on their toes for the first two quarters. Unfortunately, KAIST took the lead by the third quarter and came to a win.

The festival ended with a closing ceremony, celebrated by many performances from both universities’ clubs and guest celebrities Mirani and izna.

PKSW was meaningful not only as a competition but also as an event for unity. Postechians were united in spirit as they cheered for victory together throughout every game, and students from both POSTECH and KAIST were also connected in harmony during the festival. With numerous clubs interacting, and some even staging joint performances, it was truly a valuable opportunity for exchange and connection.