'Faker' Lee Sang-hyeok included in final Asian Games national team candidate list... Aiming for back-to-back gold

*This content was translated by AI.

Lee Sang-hyeok (T1), known as 'Faker' and Korea's greatest living legend in esports history, is set to don the national emblem once again and chase back-to-back gold medals at the Asian Games.

The Korea e-Sports Association officially announced the final national team candidate list for the esports events at the 20th Asian Games to be held in Aichi and Nagoya, Japan, this September. A total of 36 candidate athletes were selected across the nine medal events in which Korea will compete.

Among them, the name of 'Faker' Lee Sang-hyeok stands at the center of the League of Legends event, which draws the most attention from esports fans worldwide.

Having won a gold medal at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, Lee will now compete in the Asian Games for the second consecutive time.

According to the association, the LoL candidate was selected based on a comprehensive evaluation of domestic and international competition results and individual awards from the past two years, including last year's KeSPA CUP and this year's regional regular league. From 20 preliminary candidates carefully chosen by a subcommittee and coaches, the final six were selected after detailed position-specific analysis and individual interviews to confirm their willingness to be called up.

In addition, the LoL national team roster includes 'Zeus' Choi Woo-je (Hanwha Life eSports) at top, 'Canyon' Kim Geon-bu (Gen.G eSports) at jungle, 'Zeka' Kim Geon-woo (Hanwha Life eSports) and 'Faker' Lee Sang-hyeok (T1) at mid, 'Gumayusi' Lee Min-hyeong (Hanwha Life eSports) at marksman, and 'Keria' Ryu Min-seok (T1) at support.

Beyond LoL, South Korea has assembled its best teams through separate selection tournaments in a total of nine events: Daejeon Fighting (Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8, The King of Fighters XV), Pokémon Unite, Honor of Kings, PUBG Mobile, Identity V, Gran Turismo 7, eFootball series, and Puyo Puyo Champions.

In the Daejeon Fighting events, 'DakCorgi' Yeon Je-gil (KT Rolster) of Street Fighter 6, 'KNEE' Bae Jae-min (Kiwoom Dragons) of Tekken 8, and 'MadKof' Lee Gwang-no of The King of Fighters XV were confirmed as candidates after winning fierce selection tournaments. In Pokémon Unite, which was decided through team-based selection, T1 took first place, and in Honor of Kings, Nongshim RedForce claimed first, thereby securing national team candidate status as a team.

For PUBG Mobile, five finalists were selected from ten preliminary entrants based on results and evaluation metrics from the past two years: 'FAVIAN' Park Sang-cheol (Dplus Kia), 'XZY' Kim Jun-ha (Nongshim RedForce), 'HYUNBIN' Jeon Hyeon-bin (Nongshim RedForce), 'NolBu' Song Su-an, and 'chpz' Jung Yu-chan (all Kia). In Identity V, the first-place team 'Pororon' qualified. In Gran Turismo 7, first-place finisher Kim Young-chan (DCT Racing) was selected. In the eFootball series, Kim Do-gyeom (mobile) and Song Young-woo (PC) were chosen, and in Puyo Puyo Champions, Kang Dong-shin was selected.

The list of 36 esports national team candidates will undergo a formal objection period until May 28 in accordance with relevant regulations. Following final approval by the president of the Korea e-Sports Association, the list will be submitted to the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee. Final confirmation as the official roster will be granted upon approval by the KSOC Performance Improvement Committee in June.

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.