The South Korean esports team has secured its fourth medal at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
Composed of players Park Seong-soon, Jin Soo-bin, Jo Min-hyeok, Kim Jae-young, and Lee Ji-hwan (all from T1), the South Korean team lost to Japan in the semifinals of the Pokémon Unite event on September 27 at the Aichi Sky Expo in Tokoname, Japan, with a set score of 0-2.
Pokémon Unite, which was introduced for the first time in this tournament, does not hold a separate third-place match, meaning South Korea automatically claimed the bronze medal.
In the group stage, South Korea was in Group C, where they defeated India 2-0 but lost to Japan 1-2, finishing second in the group to advance to the quarterfinals.
In the quarterfinals held on the morning of September 27, South Korea achieved a comeback victory against Singapore, winning 2-1 to reach the semifinals. However, they faced Japan again in the semifinals, where they were unable to advance to the finals.
In the first set of the semifinals, South Korea struggled against Japan's strong early pressure, falling behind in both score and level. They lost the first set after a significant team fight two minutes before the end of the match.
In the second set, South Korea initially took control by securing key objectives and building a score lead. However, they could not withstand Japan's counterattack in the final moments, losing the second set as well.
With this performance, the South Korean esports team has now won a total of four medals at the tournament, including a gold medal in fighting games (Bae Jae-min, Lee Kwang-no, Yeon Je-gil), a silver medal in Puyo Puyo (Kang Dong-sin), and a bronze medal in Gran Turismo 7 (Kim Young-chan).
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.