How did South Korea come back to beat Japan in the esports fighting games final?

South Korea fell behind twice, first after Yeon lost in Street Fighter 6 and later after Bae lost in Tekken 8. The team tied the match twice, then pulled ahead 3-2 and 4-2 before Bae sealed the win with a 2-0 victory in the seventh match.

What other esports medals did South Korea win at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games?

Kang Dong-shin won silver in Puyo Puyo Champions earlier on Saturday. Kim Young-chan also earned bronze in Gran Turismo 7 on Wednesday, giving South Korea another medal in the esports program.

S. Korea wins gold in esports fighting games at Asian Games

Q: Who won gold in the fighting games event at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games?

South Korea’s team of Lee Kwang-noh, Yeon Jea-gil and Bae Jae-min won the title by beating Japan 5-2 in the final at Aichi Sky Expo in Tokoname. It was South Korea’s first esports gold medal at an Asian Games in Japan.

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Summary

South Korea won gold in the fighting games event at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Tokoname, Japan, on Saturday. Lee Kwang-noh, Yeon Jea-gil and Bae Jae-min beat Japan 5-2 in the final at Aichi Sky Expo. It was South Korea’s first gold medal in esports at the Asian Games in Japan.

Key Facts

The fighting games event featured Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8 and The King of Fighters XV, with three gamers playing their respective games.
Yeon Jea-gil lost the opening Street Fighter 6 battle 2-1, while Lee Kwang-noh won his match in The King of Fighters XV 2-1 to level the final.
South Korea trailed again after Bae Jae-min lost his Tekken 8 match 2-1, but Lee then beat Akihito Sawada 2-0 to tie the score at 2-2.
South Korea went ahead 3-2 when Bae defeated Daichi Nakayama 2-1, and Yeon later extended the lead to 4-2 with a 2-0 win over Kojiro Higuchi.
Bae closed out the final with a 2-0 victory over Nakayama in Tekken 8.

By Yonhap

Published Sep 26, 2026 7:39 pm KST

South Korea's esports players Yeon Jea-gil, left, Bae Jae-min, center and Lee Kwang-noh enter the stage for the fighting games final at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Aichi Sky Expo in Tokoname, some 35 kilometers south of the main host city of Nagoya, Japan, Saturday. Yonhap

TOKONAME, Japan — South Korea won the gold medal in the fighting games event at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Saturday, claiming the first title in esports.

The team of Lee Kwang-noh, Yeon Jea-gil and Bae Jae-min beat Japan 5-2 in the fighting games final at Aichi Sky Expo in Tokoname, some 35 kilometers south of the main host city of Nagoya, Japan.

The fighting games event includes Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8 and The King of Fighters XV, with three gamers playing their respective games.

Saturday's gold is South Korea's first gold medal in esports at the Asian Games in Japan.

Earlier in the day, Kang Dong-shin won silver in puzzle game Puyo Puyo Champions, while Kim Young-chan took bronze in the auto racing game Gran Turismo 7 on Wednesday.

Yeon dropped the opening Street Fighter 6 battle against Kojiro Higuchi by 2-1, but Lee won his match in The King of Fighters XV by 2-1 to even up the overall score.

In Tekken 8, Bae fell to Daichi Nakayama 2-1, as Japan reclaimed its overall lead at 2-1.

But in the next match, contested in The King of Fighters, Lee edged out Akihito Sawada 2-0. The teams were now tied again in the match score at 2-2.

South Korea went up 3-2 when Bae won his Tekken 8 match over Nakayama by 2-1. The South Korean lead grew to 4-2 when Yeon's C. Viper took down Higuchi's Guile by 2-0.

The seventh match went back to Tekken 8, and Bae closed out Nakayama and the Japanese team with his 2-0 win.

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