T1 dominate Korea’s LoL national team for Hangzhou Asian Games
Colin Young-Wolff/Riot GamesLCK giants T1 have the most players on South Korea’s national League of Legends team for the 2022 Asian Games.
In a May 24 announcement, the Korean e-Sports Association (KeSPA) unveiled the six-man squad that will represent the country at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
T1 lead the way with three players (Choi ‘Zeus’ Woo-je, Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok and Ryu ‘Keria’ Min-seok), followed by MSI 2023 winners JD Gaming, who will be represented by Seo ‘Kanavi’ Jin-hyeok and Park ‘Ruler’ Jae-hyuk. The final player is Gen.G’s Jeong ‘Chovy’ Ji-hoon, who will battle with Faker for playing time.
According to KeSPA, the squad was selected upon review of performances of the last two years of both domestic and international competitions, including MSI 2023, and individual awards. Only players who were at least 16 years old as of February 2023 and who compete in one of the four major regions (LCK, LPL, LEC and LCS) were considered.
Kim ‘kkOma’ Jeong-gyun, who led SK Telecom T1 to three Worlds titles between 2013 and 2016, will coach the national team at the Asian Games, which for the first time will have esports competitions as official medal events.
In addition to League of Legends, South Korea will field national teams in PUBG Mobile, FIFA Online 4, and Street Fighter 5.
The 19th Asian Games will take place in Hangzhou, China, from September 23 through October 8. The event was originally scheduled to take place in September 2022 before it was postponed because of the global health crisis.
South Korea’s LoL national team for Asian Games:
Top Laner: Choi ‘Zeus’ Woo-je (T1)
Jungler: Seo “Kanavi” Jin-hyeok (JD Gaming)
Mid Laners: Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok (T1), Jeong ‘Chovy’ Ji-hoon (Gen.G)
AD Carry: Park ‘Ruler’ Jae-hyuk (JD Gaming)
Support: Ryu ‘Keria’ Min-seok (T1)