Random: I Met My Favourite Korean Cheerleader Because of Eve and Stellar Blade

As the only British baseball fan on Planet Earth, I had one simple mission when I first arrived in Taipei: to choose a local team to support. Taiwan is infatuated with America’s former favourite pastime, and it’s even dedicated a spot on its $1,000 note to a celebrating squad. After much deliberation, I settled on the Rakuten Monkeys for one rather simple, primitive reason: they’d just signed Korean cheerleader Lee Dahye.

Never could I have imagined several months later that I’d be standing several metres away from the superstar, who has over one million followers on Instagram. Earlier this month, as part of its extensive Stellar Blade marketing campaign, Sony announced that Dahye would cosplay as Eve in launch events scheduled for both Taiwan and Hong Kong. I just happened to fight my way to the front row seats.

The event took place earlier today in Taipei City Mall, which is the underground anime paradise I’ve penned articles about before. The entire plaza has been kitted out with Shift Up’s console debut, with retailers displaying life-sized cardboard cutouts of Eve, as well as billboards promoting the exclusive’s launch date.

Dahye was introduced by an excitable MC, before posing for photos in Eve’s now iconic Planet Diving Suit (7th). As an official cosplay, this was convincing, featuring all of the flourishes from the game, including the unusual necktie accessory and ostentatious hair bobble. (Which, if you pay attention while playing, you’ll realise actually doubles as her sword!)

Asked about the release, Dahye – who sadly switched teams to the Wei Chuan Dragons earlier this year – explained that she’s still getting to grips with the combat system, but generally enjoys action-packed outings like this. Unsurprisingly, she also noted that Eve’s green get-up is currently her favourite outfit in the game.

A live gameplay session with local streamer LuDan followed, and Dahye appeared captivated by the high-level skills on display – we suspect she may have asked for some tips after the event! The star will now set off to Hong Kong as Sony plots a series of promotional events all over Asia, as it looks to cement Stellar Blade as another tentpole PlayStation property.