South Korea's League of Legends team is rivaling recurve archery, the country's most reliable medal source, in sheer dominance.
The national team advanced to the final with a commanding performance in the esports League of Legends event. It is Korea's third consecutive trip to the final, after the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games and the 2023 Hangzhou Games, and one more win would deliver a second straight gold medal.
Korea dismissed Saudi Arabia 2-0 in the League of Legends semifinal at the Aichi Sky Expo in Japan on the 1st at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. The match was over in about 40 minutes.
The final, set for noon on the 2nd, pits Korea against Taiwan, a team it already defeated in group play. Taiwan beat Vietnam 2-0 in the other semifinal.
Fielding Choi Woo-je ("Zeus"), Kim Geon-bu ("Canyon"), Kim Geon-woo ("Zeka"), Lee Min-hyeong ("Gumayusi") and Ryu Min-seok ("Keria"), Korea opened crisply as Kim Geon-bu took first blood one minute into the match. Saudi Arabia briefly led 6-4, but Lee Min-hyeong's double kill put Korea ahead 8-6. Kim Geon-woo added a solo kill to seal the momentum, and Korea closed out the first game 18-6.
The second game belonged to Choi Woo-je. He landed a solo kill two minutes in and went on to rack up four consecutive solo kills. Ryu Min-seok then shut down three opponents in a standout play that extinguished any Saudi comeback. The second game ended 26-9 in about 22 minutes.
Korea topped Group B by beating Taiwan, India and Hong Kong, reaching the semifinals and running its record to 4-0. The team has outclassed opponents in every match, finishing off Taiwan in 25 minutes and India in 18 minutes.
Team captain and esports legend Lee Sang-hyeok ("Faker") sat out the semifinal against Saudi Arabia to rest. Faker has now competed in three straight Asian Games, starting with the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games, where esports was a demonstration event, through Hangzhou in 2023 and the current edition. Korea settled for silver after losing to China in 2018 and won gold in Hangzhou.
With a second gold within reach, Lee said: "Everything went smoothly up to the semifinal. The final against Taiwan will be the toughest match. If we can show what we prepared, we can certainly win."
Kim Geon-woo said: "Taiwan lost to us the last time we met, so they will probably come back with a revised strategy. We have to prepare even more solidly. Taiwan is a team built around its mid and jungle. But we believe our mid and jungle are stronger, so if we trust each other, we can take the gold."
