[Asian Games] 'eSports Legend' Faker Lee Sang-hyeok Begins Quest for Gold Medal

Group Stage Against Hong Kong and Kazakhstan on the 25th... Expected to Advance to Quarterfinals
Semifinal Matchup Against China Anticipated as a 'De Facto Final'

eSports title ‘League of Legends (LoL)’ national representative Faker Lee Sang-hyeok (27) is starting his challenge to become the inaugural champion.

South Korea's national e-sports team member 'Faker' Lee Sang-hyeok, who is participating in the Hangzhou Asian Games, is arriving through Xiaoshan International Airport in Hangzhou, China, on the afternoon of the 22nd.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Korean LoL national team will compete in the second match of Group A in the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games eSports LoL group stage against Hong Kong on the 25th (Korean time).

They will play the first match against Hong Kong at 10 a.m., followed by the second match against Kazakhstan at 12:20 p.m.

LoL, in which Lee Sang-hyeok participates, is one of the most popular eSports titles worldwide and has been a long-standing game for over 10 years since its launch. It is played as a 5v5 team match, and the victory condition is to destroy the opponent’s Nexus, a building located deep within their base.

Lee Sang-hyeok is a living legend in the eSports world, holding the most championship titles globally. Debuting in 2013 with T1, he made his presence known by winning domestic tournaments in the latter half of the year and claimed the World Championship (Worlds) the same year, earning a place among the Worlds Royalty.

Since then, under Lee Sang-hyeok’s leadership, T1 enjoyed its golden era by winning the Worlds in 2015 and 2016, the Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) in 2016 and 2017, and a total of 10 LCK split championships.

In the eSports industry, where players’ careers are very short, Lee Sang-hyeok has maintained the top position for nearly 10 years. However, the Asian Games gold medal remains an unachieved milestone for him. In the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games, where eSports was a demonstration event, he narrowly lost to China in the finals and settled for the silver medal.

At the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games (AG) esports national team send-off ceremony, Faker (Lee Sang-hyeok), a player of the national team in the League of Legends category, is being introduced.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The fact that eSports is an official event for the first time at Hangzhou and whether he will become the inaugural LoL champion is drawing global fans’ attention.

eSports was adopted as an official event at this Hangzhou Games. Alongside League of Legends, games such as PUBG Mobile, FIFA Online 4, and Street Fighter V are also contested. Ahead of the tournament, Lee Sang-hyeok expressed his determination, saying, “I am competing with different teammates than five years ago. This time, I will prepare well to definitely win in the finals.”

Currently, Korea is predicted to be the strong favorite to finish first in Group A of the group stage. If Korea advances through the group stage, the bracket is set for them to face Saudi Arabia in the quarterfinals at 10 a.m. on the 27th.

If they win this match, there is a very high possibility they will meet China in the semifinals at 10 a.m. on the 28th. The semifinals are expected to be the de facto finals.

Previously, China, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, and India, who performed well in the Asian Games qualifiers, have direct entry into the quarterfinals. Korea did not participate in the qualifiers due to overlapping domestic league schedules and will compete from the group stage to advance.