The 'Esports Championships Asia 2026' (ECA 2026), hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and co-organized by the Korea e-Sports Association, Gyeongsangnam-do, and Jinju City, kicked off on the 24th.

Fighting game events (Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8, and The King of Fighters XV) were held on the morning of the 24th. Representing South Korea were Lee Gwang-no for The King of Fighters XV, Yeon Je-gil for Street Fighter 6, and Bae Jae-min for Tekken 8. Although the team finished first in the preliminaries, Japan, which advanced from second place, won the championship after defeating South Korea in both the final and the bracket reset final.

Following the preliminary results, South Korea and Japan—both strong contenders in the fighting game category—advanced to the finals. The first set featured Street Fighter 6. In the match between Yeon Je-gil and Kojiro Higuchi, Yeon, playing Viper, was defeated by Kojiro Higuchi's Guile, giving Japan the first win. In the second set, played in The King of Fighters XV, Lee Gwang-no secured a victory, leveling the score at 1-1.

However, 'Knee' Bae Jae-min was defeated in the third set. Lee Gwang-no won again in the fourth set (The King of Fighters XV) to tie the score at 2-2, but South Korea lost the final fifth set. As the team that had finished first in the preliminaries, South Korea was granted one additional opportunity.

The first set of the bracket reset final was played in Tekken 8, where Bae Jae-min suffered a decisive defeat, putting South Korea behind 0-1. The second set was The King of Fighters, where Lee Gwang-no won once again, demonstrating a clear skill gap in that title. However, South Korea lost the third set (Street Fighter 6). The fourth set was Tekken 8; both players were evenly matched, bringing the score to 2-2, but Japan ultimately emerged victorious, securing the championship in the fighting game category.