South Korea, led by Faker, won the 2026 Asian Games in League of Legends—three players received military service exemptions.
On October 2, the League of Legends tournament at the 2026 Asian Games came to a close. The South Korean national team, featuring Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, won the gold medal after defeating Taiwan 3-0 in the final. The team won the competition for the second time in a row and did not lose a single game.
Faker played only one map in the tournament—against India in the group stage. In the remaining games, Kim “Zeka” Gon-woo of Hanwha Life Esports took the mid lane.
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Thanks to this victory, Zeka, Kim “Canyon” Gon-bu, and Lee “Gumayusi” Min-hyun received an exemption from standard mandatory military service. The other three players—Faker, Choi “Zeus” Woo-jae, and Ryu “Keria” Min-seok—had already received this exemption after winning the previous Asian Games.
South Korea National Team Roster
- Choi “Zeus” Woo-jae
- Kim “Canyon” Gon-bu
- Kim “Zeka” Gon-woo
- Lee “Gumayusi” Min-hyeon
- Ryu “Keria” Min-seok
- Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok (substitute)
- Kang “Hirai” Dong-hoon (coach)
Medal Tally
- 1st place — South Korea (gold);
- 2nd place — Taiwan (silver);
- 3rd–4th places — Vietnam and Saudi Arabia (bronze).
No third-place match was held. The bronze medals went to the teams that lost in the semifinals. The tournament took place from September 29 to October 2 in Japan. Eight teams participated.
At the 2022 Asian Games in China, which took place in 2023, South Korea won the gold medal. In the final, the team defeated Taiwan 2–0. At those Games, esports was included in the official medal program for the first time. In 2018, it was featured as a demonstration sport.
Photo: INVEN.
