On September 26, South Korea defeated Japan 5-2 in the esports fighting games final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, held at Aichi Sky Expo. After falling behind 1-2 in set score, South Korea turned the match around by winning four consecutive sets.

Japan took the early lead. Playing in Set 1 on Street Fighter 6, Yeon "DakCorgi" Je-gil pushed Kojiro "Higuchi" Higuchi to the final game. In the first game, Yeon was just one light attack away from victory, but allowed a comeback against Guile's counterattack. Yeon leveled the match by taking the second game, but lost the final game, giving Japan the opening point.

South Korea quickly restored balance in KOF XV with Lee "MadKoF" Kwang-no. Lee dropped a game to Akihito "SCORE" Sawada, but shifted the momentum in the final game by bringing out Najd. After defeating his opponent's characters in succession, Lee secured the win to bring the set score to 1-1.

In Set 3 on Tekken 8, Bae "KNEE" Jae-min took the first game 3-0, but suffered a comeback against Daichi "NOBI" Nakayama's Dragunov. In the final game, Bae also selected Dragunov for a mirror match, but lost 0-3. Japan went ahead 2-1 once again, putting pressure on South Korea first.

It was Lee who rescued South Korea once again. Having gained game selection rights following the loss in Set 3, South Korea predictably placed KOF XV in Set 4. Lee delivered a steady performance to claim his second set win, tying the overall score at 2-2.

The turning point of the final came in Set 5 on Tekken 8. Japan once again fielded Nakayama, who had won the previous matchup, but Bae secured victory this time by utilizing Bryan and Fahkumram. Correcting his earlier defeat in the first Tekken 8 set, Bae's victory put South Korea ahead 3-2 for their first lead of the match.

Yeon delivered the decisive blow. Facing Higuchi again in Set 6, Yeon countered his opponent's gambits with far more composure than in their first matchup. While he had allowed a counterattack by rushing the finish in the previous match, he did not repeat the same mistake in the rematch. By successfully avenging his defeat in Street Fighter 6, where South Korea had been expected to be at a disadvantage, South Korea extended its lead to 4-2.

The final chapter belonged to Bae. Japan selected Tekken 8 for Set 7, but Bae defeated Nakayama's Dragunov 3-2 with Bryan before completely shutting down his Steve 3-0. A series of perfectly timed counters froze Nakayama's offensive rhythm.

Lee held the fort with two wins in KOF XV to keep South Korea afloat. Bae overcame an initial loss to claim two Tekken 8 sets, while Yeon delivered a crucial win in Street Fighter 6, where the odds were stacked highest against them.

Through a relentless series of counterstrikes from all three players, South Korea overturned a 1-2 deficit into a 5-2 victory. They completely settled the score for their two previous losses to Japan at ECA 2026 on the most important stage of all—the Asian Games final.