KeSPA will host closed-door League of Legends evaluation matches for South Korea before the 2026 Asian Games.
The Korea e-Sports Association announced it will host closed-door evaluation matches for South Korea’s League of Legends team ahead of the 2026 Asian Games.
As the LoL esports scene rushes towards the finish line of the summer splits, the stages are slowly getting set for international competitions, with EMEA Masters Summer, World Star Challengers Invitational, Demacia Cup Global Invitational, LoL Worlds, and the Asian Games all around the corner.
In preparation for the latter, the South Korean national team will play two warm-up matches against the United States and Vietnamese teams on September 19 and 20, respectively.
Korea’s team have arrived in Busan for training camps ahead of the event, where they have already completed two preliminary training sessions before returning for the second training camp, which is said to run from September 19 to 25.
The Korean LoL roster will feature T1’s iconic “ZOFGK” lineup with Choi “Zeus” Woo-je in the top lane, Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok as the starting mid laner, ADC Lee “Gumayusi” Min-hyeong, and support Ryu “Keria” Min-seok.
The two national teams the South Korean squad will face have already been revealed, with the United States fielding a weaker team with only one player from LoL Championship Series (LCS) included.
The USA team will consist of top laner Noah “Denathor” Erikson from Dignitas, jungler Perry Chen “Perry” Norman from Conviction, mid laner Jonny “AoJune” Chen from Maryville, Jeremiah “ScaryJerry” Leathe from Maryville, and support Ryan “Zyko” Jung from Conviction.
Meanwhile, the Vietnamese team will arrive in South Korea with a more formidable lineup, consisting of top laners Nguyễn “Pun” Đăng Khoa from Team Secret Whales and Trần “Kiaya” Duy from GAM Esports, jungler Lê “Hizto” Văn Hoàng Hải from Team Secret Whales, mid laner Trần “Dire” Duy Đức from Team Secret Whales, ADC Hoàng “Eddie” Công Nghĩa from Team Secret Whales, and support Đinh “Taki” Anh Tài from GAM Esports.
The preparation matches will also benefit the Vietnamese squad, who will also be in attendance at the Asian Games as one of the main favourites to make a run for a trophy, alongside Taiwan and South Korea.
Other national teams attending the event include Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, India, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Malaysia.
The LoL Asian Games event is scheduled to kick off on September 30 and run until October 2.
It marks the third Asian Games to include a LoL tournament and is the first to be hosted in South Korea, after Indonesia in 2018 and China in 2022.
Mark Prezelj
Esports Betting Analyst
Mark Prezelj is a Slovenian esports betting analyst with over 3,500 articles at EsportBet and the founder of Lines64.com — someone who has been reading odds longer than most readers have been watching esports.
