South Korea's League of Legends national team, chasing a second straight Asian Games gold medal, swept all three of its group-stage matches to advance to the semifinals.
The team, coached by Kang Dong-hoon, beat Taiwan, India and Hong Kong in Group B of the League of Legends esports competition at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, held at Aichi Sky Expo in Tokoname, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on Sept. 30. Korea finished atop the group to reach the semifinals.
Against Taiwan, Kim "Zeka" Gun-woo started in the mid lane and conceded first blood early but quickly regained control. Korea secured key objectives one after another, including the rift herald, turrets and Baron, to build its lead and destroyed Taiwan's nexus in about 25 minutes. In the following match against India, Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok of T1 made his first start of the tournament. Korea took the initiative from the outset through the bottom lane and extended its lead with consecutive kills in major skirmishes. It dispatched India in 18 minutes and 46 seconds, finishing with a 16-5 kill score. In the final match, Hong Kong swapped its top laner and marksman positions in search of an edge, but Korea was unshaken. After building a lead through a series of early skirmish wins, Korea secured Baron Nashor around the 20-minute mark and kept up the pressure. It destroyed Hong Kong's nexus in 22 minutes to close out the group stage with a win. The final kill score against Hong Kong was 21-2.
Korea faces Saudi Arabia, the runner-up in Group A, in the semifinals on Oct. 1. The semifinal is a best-of-three series, and a win would send Korea to the gold medal match on Oct. 2.
Korea won silver at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games and gold at the 2023 Hangzhou Games. At this tournament, it is seeking the first back-to-back Asian Games gold medals in League of Legends history.
