Faker benched in first 2022 Asian Games pre-evaluation

William Davis Published 13/09/2023

Three time Worlds Champion Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok was benched in South Korea’s first match against Vietnam ahead of the 2022 Asian Games.

Team South Korea played the first round of evaluation matches ahead of the 2022 Asian Games, and one important face was missing from the lineup. Against Vietnam, team South Korea started Gen.G’s mid laner and current LCK champion Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoonk, leaving Faker on the bench.

The rest of the team consisted of T1’s top laner Choi “Zeus” Woo-je and support Ryu “Keria” Min-seok, and JD Gaming’s jungler Seo “Kanavi” Jin-hyeok and bot laner Park “Ruler” Jae-hyuk.

On Vietnam’s side, the team included Team Whales’ bot lane duo Trần “Artemis” Quốc Hưng Trần “Bie” Đức Hiếu and mid laner Lê “Glory” Ngọc Vinh. Jungler Đỗ “Levi” Duy Khánh and top laner Trần “Kiaya” Duy Sang from GAM Esports completed the team. All ten players on the Summoner’s Rift will be attending the 2023 World Championship in South Korea.

As expected, South Korea dominated the Vietnamese squad for a clean 2-0 victory.

On Tuesday, Faker was included in the starting lineup in the match against Chinese Taipei. South Korea claimed another 2-0 win.

Will Faker play in the 2022 Asian Games?

After two days of evaluation matches, the question remains: will Faker play in the 2022 Asian Games?

Team South Korea had a dominant performance with both Faker and Chovy as the starting mid laner. It is unclear what could make the coaching staff choose one mid laner over the other.

The 2022 Asian Games are more than just the prelude to Worlds 2023. The event’s result has major implications for all the players involved in the roster. The 2022 Asian Games is an event sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee, and for the first time, esports are a medal event. Winning the 2022 Asian Games would exempt Faker and the rest of the players on the roster from mandatory military service.

Read Also

League of Legends

DPlus players haven’t been paid in a month as upcoming acquisition affects finances Michael Hassall Korean esports organization Dplus Kia has reportedly not paid players for multiple titles it competes in for a period of at least a month as it grapples with financial issues related to an upcoming acquisition. The news surfaced on July 16 that the organization was struggling to fulfill its commitments to pay players. Just a few hours later, DPlus released a statement admitting the issues, but insisting that players had ...

Esports Betting

BLG vs T1: Best betting odds and picks for EWC LoL 2026 Hannan Mundia BLG and T1 will face off in the 2026 EWC to determine the first team in Group C to qualify for the playoffs, but which team has a better chance of success? While T1 wasn’t able to beat BLG at the recent MSI tournament, the team has another shot at the 2026 EWC. This match is a best-of-one instead of the typical best-of-five that T1 frequently struggles in, so there ...

Esports Betting

G2 Esports vs AG.AL: Best betting odds and picks for EWC LoL 2026 Hannan Mundia G2 Esports may be the strongest European League of Legends team at the EWC 2026, but how does it stack up against AG.AL? G2 Esports made waves in the recent 2026 Mid-Season Invitational by taking down T1 from the tournament. The team’s next opponent is AG.AL, a team many consider the dark horse of the series. The looming question is whether the LEC royalty can take down the China qualifier ...

Esports Betting

League of Legends at the EWC 2026 preview, details, predictions, and more Hannan Mundia The 2026 League of Legends Esports World Cup has the potential to be even grander than the last, making it all the more important to learn about its schedule and participating teams. League of Legends has no shortage of large-scale international tournaments. While First Stand and the Mid-Season Invitational have concluded, the next event that fans have to look forward to is the Esports World Cup. Gen.G may have dominated ...

League of Legends

HLE’s MSI win may have proven that Gumayusi’s the GOAT Hannan Mundia With HLE winning the 2026 MSI tournament grand final against BLG, there’s a real argument that Gumayusi may be the best ADC player currently. This year’s MSI has finally concluded, and Hanwha Life Esports took home the winning trophy. While it was filled to the brim with ups and downs for every player, Gumayusi may be the only player who consistently performed in every game, regardless of which team was ...

Esports Betting

Hanwha Life Esports vs BLG: Best betting odds and picks for MSI 2026 grand final Hannan Mundia Hanwha Life Esports and BLG will get to have a rematch in the 2026 MSI grand final, but which team will walk away as the victor? The first match between HLE and BLG didn’t really go well for the LCK team. The stakes are much higher this time, and the looming question is whether things will be any different this time around. Tournament: MSI 2026 Stage: Lower bracket final Game: ...

Esports Betting

NA has a winning head-to-head against EU at MSI for the first time since 2018 Wasif Ahmed LYON just beat G2 Esports 3-0 at the LoL 2026 Mid-Season Invitational. Right off the high of beating the six-time World champion T1, the LEC representative quickly came back to Earth as NA cut their run short. Now, North America is ahead of Europe in the head-to-head for the first time since 2018. After G2’s victories against Top Esports and T1, the predictions were split. Part of the community rationally ...