South Korea LoL coach shares key concern ahead of China Asian Games match

South Korea’s national League of Legends coach, Kim ‘kkOma’ Jeong-gyun, has revealed his main concern ahead of Thursday’s playoff match against China at the 2022 Asian Games.

South Korea moved past Saudi Arabia 2-0 on Wednesday to set up a mouth-watering semi-final clash against China, which beat Macau by the same scoreline.

The clash is being billed in the League of Legends community as a de facto final as the two teams are the red-hot favorites for the gold medal. It is also a rematch of the 2018 Asian Games final, when China came out on top with a 3-1 victory.

Thursday’s match will be the first time the South Korean players will play in the main arena, something that the Chinese players were able to do on Wednesday against Macau. It is such a significant advantage that it is giving kkOma an extra cause for concern ahead of the upcoming match.

“What I am worried about is that China played at the main stadium today, and they may or may not have adapted to the stadium,” he is quoted by Naver as saying after the match against Saudi Arabia.

“I’m more worried about the opponent’s experience in the main stadium than the cheering. I think the cheering part is unavoidable, but I’m worried about that because it’s the first time we’ll be playing in the main stadium tomorrow after playing in the secondary stadium.”

Despite this last-minute concern, kkOma remains optimistic for the match ahead.

“The entire team has been playing without a break, and I’m confident about tomorrow’s game,” he said, before urging the Korean people to support the players. “We will win tomorrow and make our fans smile.”

For the Korean players, there’s more than a gold medal on the line. Winning the tournament would grant the players an exemption from compulsory military service, which all able-bodied South Korean men must perform by age 28.