South Korea Advances to Asian Games LoL Final

South Korea defeated Saudi Arabia 2-0 in the League of Legends semifinal at the 2026 Asian Games on October 1. The victory at Aichi Sky Expo in Japan books a final rematch against Chinese Taipei for the gold medal.

South Korea won both games in the series. The second game was a decisive 22-minute affair.

Faker’s absence and Zeka’s impact

South Korea fielded Kim 'Zeka' Geon-woo instead of Lee 'Faker' Sang-hyeok for both Games 1 and 2. Faker stayed on the bench for the series. In mid lane, Zeka's Cassiopeia was significantly ahead in CS despite having no kills.

Faker is on the South Korea roster and is the first esports player to represent South Korea at three straight Asian Games. "Faker, who was named an honorary police officer in South Korea, stayed on the bench for the series."

Game 2 breakdown and key moments

The second game ended in 22 minutes with a 15-6 kill score. Saudi Arabia’s bot lane applied early pressure, with kills tied 2-2 at the 4-minute mark. By 9 minutes, South Korea led in both top and bot lane.

South Korea's bot lane began pulling ahead significantly in CS with Caitlyn and Bard. Saudi Arabia committed three players to top to take down Zeus's Nidalee. They managed to pick up occasional kills despite suffering lane losses.

By 16 minutes, the kill score reached 15-6 and the gold lead expanded to over 7,000. South Korea took Baron at 20 minutes and extended the gold lead to 10,000. They destroyed the top and mid inhibitors. South Korea destroyed the Nexus to claim victory just two minutes later.

Choi 'Zeus' Woo-je played Nidalee in top lane and had three kills against Illaoi.

Roster context and path to final

All six players on South Korea’s roster come from LCK teams. The roster arrived after an international season that included the MSI 2026 playoffs. South Korea won Group B 3-0, beating Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, and India. India finished last in Group B.

Chinese Taipei won the other semifinal against Vietnam. South Korea and Chinese Taipei previously met in the Group B stage, where South Korea won. South Korea is the defending champion, having won gold at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou. That 2022 win granted the players an exemption from military service.

South Korea will face Chinese Taipei for the gold medal in a best-of-five final on October 2 at 12:00 PM local time.