[Anchor]
The South Korean national e스포츠 League of Legends team defeated Chinese Taipei in the final to achieve its second consecutive Asian Games victory. By winning the championship in flawless fashion without dropping a single set from the group stage, they once again showcased their status as the world's best.
Reporting from Nagoya, this is Yu Byeongmin.
[Reporter]
Two hours before the final began, an endless queue of fans from various Asian countries lined up at the venue entrance to cheer for our players.
[Chinese Fan: Flight tickets from China to Japan were expensive, and it cost 2 million won.]
[Japanese Fan: I love Faker and Keria, fighting!]
Leaving the packed crowd in suspense, the final started 40 minutes later than scheduled due to a system error. Our players then drove fans wild with thrilling performances, staging comebacks in every set.
Though trailing against Chinese Taipei midway through the first set, the team pulled off a comeback driven by Zeka (Kim Geon-woo) and Zeus (Choi Woo-jae). In the second set, Gumayusi (Lee Min-hyung) completely turned the tide in a single stroke with a triple kill.
When the opponents' base was destroyed in the final third set and the victory was confirmed, the players embraced and basked in the joy.
Securing a 3-0 sweep, the national team claimed the gold medal for the second consecutive time following the previous Hangzhou tournament, displaying flawless form without conceding a single set across all five matches of this competition.
[Kim Geon-woo (Zeka) / National e스포츠 League of Legends Team: It is such an honor to wear the Taegeuk mark and hang a gold medal around my neck, and because I played with a desperate mindset to win no matter what, I was able to maintain my concentration until the very end and do well.]
[Lee Sang-hyeok (Faker) / National e스포츠 League of Legends Team: I think the journey, experiences, and processes we undertook running toward the gold medal were very meaningful.]
To the rumors of expulsion from the Asian Games and the lingering negative perceptions surrounding e스포츠 that surfaced during the tournament, the players responded as follows:
[Lee Min-hyung (Gumayusi) / National e스포츠 League of Legends Team: I believe that as long as there are cheering crowds, players sweating it out amidst them, and moving stories and emotions, it can be a sport.]
There were no surprises.
Led by Faker, our national team boasted the world's absolute top-tier skills, decorating this tournament with a spectacular finale.
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Ha Jee-min, the living legend of South Korean sailing, claimed first place in the men's dinghy event, washing away the disappointment of his silver medal from the previous Hangzhou tournament to harvest his fourth career Asian Games gold medal.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
Reported by Yu Byeongmin | Video by Choi Dae-woong | Video Editing by Park Choon-bae | Graphics by Hwang Se-yeon
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