Baek Koo-young Won the Final—Why the Tears, Votes and Directing Mattered

The scoreboard named a winner, but the winner could barely stay standing. Baek Koo-young's emotional reaction put the labor behind a staged performance in the spotlight, not just the choreography.

At the October 20 Mnet/tvN final, the four directors staged cheer performances inspired by different sports: Baek Koo-young chose marathon running, Bada swimming, Babyzoo fencing and Kasper League of Legends esports. The final ranking was Baek, Kasper, Babyzoo and Bada. The embedded 'FINAL MESSAGE' is Baek's official pre-final voting appeal, not footage of the trophy ceremony.

The series emphasized directing an entire stage rather than simply outperforming others in dance. Pre-final cheer-performance teasers also fed into audience voting. Reporting recorded 24,928 likes for Baek's teaser, the highest among the four finalists. Yet advance voting carried 30% of the final score and live voting 70%, so leading the previews did not guarantee victory.

Reports before the final described anticipation for the four distinct concepts and how they would look on air. The official 'VOTE FOR' and final-message uploads document the campaign to support the finalists. Coverage after the show focused on Baek's emotional reaction. These are specific observed sources, not a statistical summary of every fan's opinion.

Baek is a choreographer and stage director. The winner is set to direct the opening for the November 20–21 MAMA AWARDS. The earlier 'VOTE FOR' upload records the pre-final campaign, not the final performance or trophy presentation.

Confirmed: the show aired October 20, 2026, and Baek Koo-young won. The scoring incorporated advance voting at 30% and live voting at 70%. Reported Baek figures were 24,928 advance-teaser likes, 10,472 SMS votes and 6,697 Mnet Plus votes. These raw counts should not be added as though they were final weighted scores. Kasper, Babyzoo and Bada followed in the rankings.

The next question is how the contest win translates into the MAMA AWARDS opening. As that event is still ahead, its exact staging and impact remain unknown.