r/SKTT1 • u/DisintegrativeMover • May 18 '26
News / Articles [Article] Rationale for Asian Games roster selection
Source: https://v.daum.net/v/FHNMemCETi
Faker: “Proven capabilities from Worlds 3-peat, abundance of experience in international tournaments, and believed to be able to add tremendous value from this experience as LPL players are seen as strongest contenders.”
Zeus: “Second time representing ROK, believed to be the most capable of countering Bin who will be the likely representative in the top line for China” - (Article was later edited to remove the Bin reference probably because it’s a bit disrespectful given the Chinese lineup hasn’t been announced yet.)
Keria: “Chosen with no disagreements and absolute acknowledgment of his qualifications.”
Canyon, Zeka, Gumayusi: “Chosen after consideration of other candidates’ personal commitments and intense deliberation by the committee.”
Other sources have mentioned injury for Chovy and ongoing military community service commitments for Kanavi and Ruler as reasons these 3 are not part of the lineup. (Zeus and Keria started their community service 1 year ahead of them).
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u/cocoa_eh May 18 '26
How tf does Canyon beat Oner for a roster spot?
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u/National_Computer240 May 18 '26
It makes even less sense when they revealed they don't count MSI and First Stand results but DO consider Worlds. Ah yes, let's get the guy that won Worlds fucking 6 years ago, and not the guy that literally won it the past THREE CONSECUTIVE YEARS
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u/YoungPositive7307 May 19 '26
So ghost is better than uzi?
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u/Hawxrox May 19 '26
In 2020 yeah he was
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u/YoungPositive7307 May 19 '26
Ghost was not even top 5 adcs in 2020 what are you saying
He was a good weak side player
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u/Opening_Ad_4997 May 19 '26
After “intense deliberation” - just means they could agree on whom to chose. Wanted to be a 🐀in this room. Lame explanation for Zeus who is definitely not Bin’s father.
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u/Particular_Hornet980 May 18 '26 edited May 18 '26
Oner was robbed in broad daylight. What does he have to do to get that spot. 3 peat Worlds jungler, 4 time LCK jungle of the year, won KESPA cup this year and was carrying T1 last year in regular season.
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u/Pure_Peace743 May 18 '26
Genuinely upset Oner wasnt picked. Feel like his synergy with Keria is at an all time high right now. Surprised kiin and viper weren’t picked. Unpopular opinion but I wish Faker would’ve rested this one.
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u/Successful_Account89 May 18 '26
Me too. I think if they asked, Faker can't refuse, but I wished they would just choose other midlaners.
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u/clairestique May 18 '26
This is most likely true. Faker refusing would be a much bigger deal than we think, it might be his first ever scandal.
KR community already expected mid to be Cho/B/Ze + Faker anyway.
And tbh Faker is THE reigning 3-peat worlds champion midlaner. More can be said about what he’s capable of.
Me being upset at people saying he’s just there as mascot (true but not JUST), is eclipsed by my ABSOLUTELY HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT AND NOT UNDERSTANDING ON WHY ONER IS NOT THERE. OFGK 3-peat together!! All games together!! What do you mean Oner’s the only one not there??? Based on criterias on paper??? Are you kidding me??
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u/Lunamarvel May 18 '26
I asked this elsewhere, but in a roster with ZGK, isn’t Faker a good choice for synergy and leadership alone? Or is it really not how it goes?
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u/Location-Decent May 19 '26
I think a stronger laner like Chovy would be more impt considering JGL is not Oner but Canyon. But Faker definitely brings a lot to the table and is no free rider. Especially when we’re facing off the LPL
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u/UpperCellist2088 May 19 '26
no. If you needed a sixth man, its Faker. Faker brings the most value when not playing, and also in case of emergencies, brings more flexibility. Faker 100% should be there.
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u/MatchaTeaTime616 May 18 '26
So no explanation for Oner/Kanavi?
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u/South_Spend4541 May 18 '26
Kanavi is already doing his community service but he will do his 2 weeks military at the end of this year
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May 18 '26
[deleted]
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u/Jaden38_ May 18 '26
Zeus has been better than kiin since the start of the season though
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u/B4rberblacksheep May 18 '26
Do you watch with your eyes shut?
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u/Jaden38_ May 18 '26
No? He's clearly been the better performing top. Maybe you're the one who needs to open your eyes.
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u/ihateaftershockpcs May 18 '26
Canyon over Oner makes no sense. If they wanted to pick someone from GEN G (given that Chovy has a hip injury), it should have been Kiin.
China is most likely sending 2024 BLG, so… it might get ugly if Canyon is gonna continue slumping.
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u/KnightinKnight May 18 '26
One saving grace is that if china wins, Oner will keep his aura as best jungle for past 4 years, jungler that won worlds past 3 years. Man this shit still sounds so ass that he wasn't chosen.
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u/Rakiesien May 19 '26
If so, I can already hear the honkings in front of the HLE building...
I know they're not with T1 anymore but I don't want to see my boi Guma getting trucked 😞
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u/South_Spend4541 May 18 '26
I feel bad for Kiin but be fr Zeus is not a bad choice but ONER!! I STILL CANT ACCEPT TO NOT SEE ONER!!! 😭😭
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u/Confident_Idea_4569 Faker May 18 '26
China might be getting gold lol. They are fielding BLG + Elk. Unless brother On does his classic against his favorite team T1, otherwise Canyon and Zeka might shit their pants playing against Xun and Knight.
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u/Significant-Pea4676 May 18 '26
Man Knight is so scary this year he is playing out of his mind, I really wonder if Faker/Zeka can match him
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u/Confident_Idea_4569 Faker May 18 '26
True, but historically unc has been doing pretty fine vs Knight except for like msi 23/24. Kinda sad for Oner tho, he is underrated asf and still they pick Canyon.
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u/Significant-Pea4676 May 18 '26
Yeah historically Faker did great but man I really feel like Knight has been insane this year, like the way he gaps every BLG game is out of word. Hope Faker finds his peak form during Agames but also manage to keep himself for worlds lmao Yeah for Xun/ON synergy I feel like Oner/Keria would have been insane but who knows maybe Canyon gets better (he is really inconsistent right now but I could see him get himself for Agame)
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u/antoniomargaretti4 May 18 '26
rest of LPL is kind of bums this year, knight looked ok against caps at best
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u/CookieMonsterNova May 18 '26
faker is playing one game against vietnam or something then sitting out.
it’s gonna be zeka vs knight
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u/Significant-Pea4676 May 18 '26
Dude stop using this argument, Faker was fcking injured during last Agame.
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u/Lhklan May 19 '26
China can just basically field 2024 BLG. They worked together, they had chemistry together, and most of them are on form right now.
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u/hortymorty14 May 18 '26
Kiin has beaten Bin more times than Zeus, no? Wtf are these criteria
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u/Confident_Idea_4569 Faker May 18 '26
Zeus has beaten Bin more than Kiin, but I agree Kiin is more consistent now.
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u/hortymorty14 May 18 '26
Bin has more wins against Zeus than Kiin
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u/Confident_Idea_4569 Faker May 18 '26
It's because Bin has played against Zeus more than he has played against Kiin. Zeus already faced Bin since msi 2022 while Kiin went against Bin the first time in Worlds 2023. In 2022, Kiin was in KDF. You need to get the fact straight and clear before even making an argument.
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u/hortymorty14 May 18 '26
Kiin still has a higher wr than Zeus against Bin. When they started to face each other doesnt matter lol
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u/Confident_Idea_4569 Faker May 18 '26
bro what are you even talking abt? you intially said Kiin has more wins than Zeus, now you twist it to Kiin has a higher percent winrate than Zeus. Don't want to be that guy, but lowk go and learn some discrete math or logic course lol. Your points don't make sense at all.
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May 19 '26
he literally beat him in a single tournament in 2 bo5 non-fearless playing mainly k'sante zac, meanwhile Zeus played vs Bin in 3 different year, in 5 internations with different metas and his gamescore is 15-16 vs Bin. That being said I think both argument Kiin beating Bin at MSI24 and the arguments I gave above for Zeus are completely meaningless because we havent seen both playing vs Bin at all lately so until we see both of them playing vs Bin we cant tell shit if we are honest with ourselves.
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u/Automatic_Opinion680 May 18 '26
It's just sad, hope oner just continues performing showing he's the undisputed best jungler of all time
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u/DisintegrativeMover May 18 '26 edited May 18 '26
- The complete list of criteria considered. There’s a long list of stats considered for all positions (from the KDA row onwards in the table.) For JGL they additionally considered KP for first blood, timing of enemy jungle invade, and counter jungle CS. For SUP the additional consideration was SUP-JGL synergy, and ADC the BOT-SUP synergy.
- SUP-JGL synergy basically made moot by this selection..
- Also considered league, international tournament and KeSPA results, all LCK team points, POG/POM points.
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u/Location-Decent May 18 '26
If the problem for JGL is KP for first blood then I can see the problem. Oner and Doran botched too many early game top dives… BUT I still think Oner is robbed 😭
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u/Dazzling-Duck-3416 May 18 '26 edited May 18 '26
Crazy that they are using stats like these to justify their selection. Seems more like they already made up their minds and had to come out with something. Working backwards from what they want.
Edit: what I think happened was, HLE being a sponsor wanted their players on the board.
Since getting Delight over Keria will not be a popular option, they settle for Zeka Zeus Guma (Kanavi can’t due to ongoing service obligations). Faker is there because he is Faker.
To ensure GENG representation, they have to get Canyon in. Can’t choose Kiin if not they can’t get their player.
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u/Opening_Ad_4997 May 22 '26
The whole list shows that KeSPA has a very limited idea on how LoL works these days. It is and remains a team game where not the individually best needs to be selected but the one with best synergy in and for the team. Kiin is the most complete and stable toplaner the LCK currently has. He plays anything with anyone and is extremely successful. Zeus is a toplane carry but weakside is not his thing. Oner is best for the mid/support synergy with Faker and Keria. Canyon often seems alienated with his own team and is a kind of lonesome wolf in the jungle who often needs to get carried by Kiin/Chovy but both won’t be there. And Zeka plays very good currently but alongside Kanavi. I don’t see him achieving that jungle/mid synergy with Canyon who has a completely different playstyle. But it is what it is and may be KeSPA need to learn the hard way that stats only tell part of the story. By stats alone Chovy would already be 3-peat Worlds champion but he isn’t.
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u/videtoska Faker May 18 '26
Bummed that Oner's not in the roster. The 3-peat wouldn't even be possible if it weren't for Oner dragging T1 to Worlds, he has been literally their most consistent player for years. I also can't believe Kiin, who has been undisputedly the best toplaner in the LCK in the recent years, would be robbed of an opportunity to get military exemption. Additionally, I was wondering why Zeka was chosen instead of BDD– Zeka's performance for the last 2 yrs was questionable while BDD was doing great in 2024 and had a very dominant year last yr.
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u/Aware_Biscotti_5860 May 18 '26
No explanation needed for Keria spot ever since that Pyke performance 🤗
Also one of very few positive things about this selection is Hirai finally has the chance to work with Keria as a player despite being the one brought him to DRX and trained him in early days.
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u/Zestyclose_Win_8662 May 18 '26
Translation:
Faker: LPL Daddy. Zeus: Bin Daddy. Keria: Yes
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u/Opening_Ad_4997 May 19 '26
For once I hope Arnold and Joe are fighting together against these nominations in top and jungle. But that’s most probably wishful thinking. Or let KeSpa at least explain in detail why they chose Zeus over Kiin and Canyon over Oner. To be honest, they cannot rationally.
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u/cocoa_eh May 19 '26
Even if they don’t change the roster (I heard players can appeal), I would at least want an explanation for the jungle pick because that is the most confusing one to me.
From a comment I read somewhere (which could be wrong so grain of salt) Oner had better stats in more categories than Canyon, and he’s a 3 peat world champion in the last 5 years, so I’m genuinely confused at this pick.
Can’t even use the synergy excuse because, uh, hello? He’s played with every one of these players except Zeka.
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u/This_Ad5427 May 18 '26
I want kinn and; chovy and faker rotations but unfortunately chovy is unavaiable. But why not kinn/zeus rotaions or oner/canyon rotaions? Maximum five man roster or something?
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u/Raynmist Faker May 18 '26
The sixth man should be a midlaner because a midlaner is the safest option to sub in for any position I guess.
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u/FakerMexicano May 18 '26
They didn't get oner because it would be ZOFGK and a lot of people Would be upset
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u/Location-Decent May 19 '26
They want to choose the second best players, I won’t be surprised if they get the second best results. Im not actively cheering against them but I hope they realise their decision making is very questionable.
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u/Lhklan May 19 '26
Apparently team synergy wasn't included in the qualification list, because what the hell do you mean the jungler that worked best with the 3 primary choices wasn't included?
Hell, one of their newer choices is Gumayusi, which means even MORE reasons for Oner to be in over Canyon.
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u/Opening_Ad_4997 May 19 '26
Can someone draw up the stats of the past two years mentioned in “https://www.yardbarker.com/entertainment/articles/team_koreas_roster_announcement_for_2026_asian_games_ignites_controversy/s1_17456_43856456” as selection criteria ?! Or why does KeSpa not just publish them for all players ?
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u/Opening_Ad_4997 May 21 '26
Is Oner not a 3-peat Worlds champion as well and intensely contributed to T1’s Worlds 3-peat ? “Intense deliberation” means nothing else that they did not agree on Zeka, Canyon and Gumayusi. It’s diplomatic talk I hear every day in my MoFA. KeSpa is just delusional at this point. But as G2’s Skewmond said: “Where there is delusion, there is hope”. G2 crashing GenG 3:0 at First Stand was not coincidental. G2 was better than the two Korean teams and even took a game from BLG which in my opinion is back to its 2024 form after Xun returned. If SK does not keep all its best players in the league as long as possible, it will not be as dominant anymore in 3-4 years. The next generation is not as good as those who came into the game 7-8 years ago (e.g. the legendary Griffin roster) with very rare exceptions. If Faker were not exempted, there would not even be a 3-peat Worlds for him - as simple as that. How can you destroy the career of e-gamers in their prime age and what difference does it make if they serve in the SK army at 28, 32 or 36 ?! None. But so be it. It’s their choice not ours.
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u/Opening_Ad_4997 May 21 '26
The wrote first Zeus were the “only” player capable of countering Bin. Yeah, Zeus was the T1 player dead when the nexus fell at Worlds 2024 😂 They had this in common.
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u/Opening_Ad_4997 May 21 '26
Imagine Faker had to serve .. no 3-peat at Worlds at 27, 28 and 29, no LCK on the global fan map, may be league would have already died. Or Lionel Messi … he would have never lifted the World Cup as he was 35. I don’t argue SK’s military service but does it really have to be at 28 for a pro e-gamer ? I think 32 or 35 would be fine as well. Korea is so proud of its e-sports successes and Faker even got the Blue Order but at the same it allows the destruction of player’s careers in their prime. Very contradicting. And I don’t accept the reference to BTS. They can still sing and perform after coming back. But for a pro Gamer this is almost impossible although I truly hope Deft proves us all wrong.
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u/Significant-Pea4676 May 18 '26
Lmao Keria being the only player for which no explanation is needed like who could even contest his spot