"It is an honor and I am grateful to compete in the Asian Games for the third consecutive time. I feel a heavy sense of responsibility accordingly, and that feels more like great inspiration than pressure. I will approach this Asian Games with a sense of purpose, knowing that I am doing something meaningful."

On the 25th, 'Faker' Lee Sang-hyeok attended the send-off ceremony for the South Korean national esports team competing in the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, held at the Sangam Cube Convention Center in Mapo, Seoul, where he shared his mindset and determination for his third Asian Games.

This year marks the third consecutive time 'Faker' Lee Sang-hyeok is donning the national flag. He won a silver medal at the Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games, where esports was first introduced as a demonstration sport, and proudly claimed the gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games when it became an official medal event. During the last Hangzhou Asian Games, an anecdote of him taking photos and signing autographs for nearly 1,000 athletes in the athletes' village also became a hot topic.

Faker expressed his determination, saying, "It is an honor and I am grateful to compete for the third consecutive time. I feel a heavy sense of responsibility and want to achieve good results in this tournament as well." He added, "I did take a lot of photos during the last tournament, but to be honest, it wasn't quite that many. Still, it was a deeply gratifying experience, and since everyone is giving us so much attention this time as well, I will definitely show a good performance."

He continued, "Because the public has high expectations for esports, I strongly feel a desire to meet those expectations and give them something to be proud of. That feels more like great inspiration than pressure." He also shared his unique mindset, saying, "I want to prepare for and compete in this Asian Games with a joyful heart. I will prepare with a sense of purpose, knowing that I am doing something meaningful."

Questions were then directed at Head Coach Kang Dong-hoon, who was also present, regarding the background behind assembling the strategic analysis team and training support staff. Head Coach Kang Dong-hoon appointed 'Rascal' Kim Kwang-hee, 'Deft' Kim Hyuk-kyu, 'Khan' Kim Dong-ha, and 'Sin' Yeon Hyeong-mo as strategic analysts, and 'Ikryong' Kim Geun-hyeong and 'PS' Park Jeong-woon as training support staff.

Head Coach Kang Dong-hoon explained, "We went through extensive discussions with the subcommittee and the Performance Improvement Committee. We selected them after carefully considering and holding meetings on what structure would be most helpful to the players. We put together a team of thoroughly proven individuals who can offer practical help for each role, foster overall communication, and generate team synergy."

China, considered the strongest rival, is not participating in the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. Regarding this, Head Coach Kang stated, "From the moment I took the national team head coach position until recently, I prepared with the mindset that China's participation status could change at any time. Now that their absence is confirmed, regardless of who our competitors are, the players and I are focused on a single goal: 'Winning the gold medal with undeniably strong performance.'"

The Taiwanese national team recently announced a roster featuring players active in the LPL, such as 'JunJia' and 'HongQ'. Head Coach Kang Dong-hoon said, "We anticipated it to some extent even before the roster was announced. Their mid-jungle synergy is strong, and recently, the competitiveness of their top and bottom lanes cannot be overlooked either. Without letting our guard down, we are thoroughly reviewing league matches and actively discussing and preparing with the players."

'Faker', who shared, "I usually watch a lot of LPL, and after watching 'HongQ' play recently, I thought he was very good," expressed his resolve, saying, "I promised myself not to get complacent and to prepare thoroughly. Since I tend to analyze opponents' playstyles closely when watching matches, I will analyze even harder during the remaining period to deliver good results."