South Korea on the cusp of earning military service exemption at Asian Games 2023

South Korea’s League of Legends roster is on the cusp of earning military service exemption for their entire roster, having made the Grand Finals of the Asian Games 2023 after defeating China’s team. With an incredibly stacked roster on both sides, the game was expected to be incredibly close.

 

China VS South Korea: Player Rosters

China

Top: Chen "Bin" Ze-Bin

Jungle: Zhao "JieJie" Li-Jie

Jungle: Peng "XUN" Li-Xun

Mid: Zhuo "Knight" Ding

ADC: Zhao "Elk" Jia-Hao

Support: Tian "Meiko" Ye

Coach: Zhu "KenZhu" Kai

South Korea

Top: Choi "Zeus" Woo-je

Jungle: Seo "Kanavi" Jin-hyeok

Mid: Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok

Mid: Jeong "Chovy" Ji-hoon

ADC: Park "Ruler" Jae-hyuk

Support: Ryu "Keria" Min-seo

Coach: Kim "KkOma" Jeong-gyun

 

Titan on Titan at the Asian Games 2023

Heading into the series, both sides of the China vs South Korea match-up looked too close to call. The ability to swap out between Faker and Choy on the South Korean side allowed them to play two different games depending on which mid-laner they started. Moreover, “Faker” will oftentimes facilitate his other teammates, opting for less resources. “Chovy,” however, would oftentimes take more resources for himself, allowing him to carry the team off the back of his mechanics and punishing lane-phase.

However, China had a more balanced roster across the board, with players who were also willing to scrap with the South Korean side. China’s roster, on paper, was certainly able to go toe-to-toe with South Korea. Furthermore, if China sped up the game, South Korea was also in danger of losing control, with the former more comfortable in a faster-paced game setting. “Knight” was certainly the centrepiece of China’s roster, racking up a total of 7 kills and 2 assists for his part across the 2 games played.

“Faker” ended up being sidelined in the end, in favour of “Chovy”, who racked up a combined 8 kills and 11 assists.

 

Brother against Brother at the Asian Games 2023

In this highly anticipated series between these two powerhouses, current JDG ADC “Ruler” had little choice but to face against his own midlaner, “Knight,” as the two duelled it out. “Ruler,” who is Korean by birth, ended up playing against the region he now represents, and against teammates he currently plays alongside.

In a tweet shared by LPL Fanclub, the ADC phenom shared his perspective on playing against his own teammate.

The respect shared between both teammates, who are temporary opponents in a big Eastern tournament, is really cool to see. Both players are sure to be trying hard, wanting to represent their home country, but the nods given to each other on respect of being teammates under the same organization, despite being from different home countries, is sweet.

 

Where to Watch the Asian Games 2023?

Unfortunately, live-streaming services like Twitch, YouTube, or Kick are not broadcasting the games. You may need a VPN to connect, but these are the four websites and countries the Asian Games 2023 will be live-streamed on.

Korea: AfreecaTV

China: CCTV, Billibilli

India: SonyLiv

Vietnam: ThapcamTV

 

Make sure to catch the final day of the Asian Games 2023 League of Legends tournament on Strafe Esports. China faces off against Vietnam for third place, whilst South Korea takes on Chinese Taipei in the Grand Finals. The stakes for South Korea are incredibly high, as a win here, would mean a great deal for the future of these South Korean men’s careers.

China vs Vietnam [29th Sep | 7am BST]

South Korea vs Chinese Taipei [29th Sep | 12pm BST]

 

Credit: Lance Skundrich/Riot Games