The head coach position for South Korea’s LoL team at ASIAD has surprised many
For those who may not know, in 2026, alongside familiar tournaments, the Esports community in general and League of Legends in particular will have an additional event to look forward to: the ASIAD 2026. This is an important event for sports in general and Esports in particular, and of course, it attracts the attention of the League of Legends community. This is also an opportunity for selected South Korean players to win gold medals and thereby be exempt from military service, while also extending their careers to the maximum. However, recently, the head coach position for South Korea’s LoL team at ASIAD has surprised many.
Specifically, the chosen one is Hirai – a name not too unfamiliar to LCK fans, but the issue lies in the fact that Hirai has never had any notable or outstanding achievements in his coaching career, and the second point is that the last time he led a professional LoL team was back in 2024. Notably, the last LoL team that Hirai coached was KT Rolster.
During Hirai’s tenure, KT was associated with a rather comical story. The Summer 2023 season marked KT’s incredible strength as they completely dominated the group stage. However, they chose T1 as their first opponent in that year’s playoffs and were defeated. Since then, KT has consistently been defeated by T1 in crucial matches. In fact, in the Summer 2024, it was T1 that made KT stay home to watch the World Championship after a loss in the regional qualifiers. That was also the last match Hirai coached this team.
LCK Fans Express Concerns for the ASIAD Team
With Hirai taking on the role of head coach for the ASIAD LoL team, many fans are worried because this coach has not been active throughout 2025. Meanwhile, this is an extremely important tournament regardless of which players are selected for the final lineup.
– Hirai? Didn’t he go unemployed for the entire 2025 season?
– Seems like Hirai was with KT before, right? And during the ‘T1 pick’ time?
– I’m really concerned about the meta.
In fact, at this time, LCK is gathering many top players, and among the top teams, there are names that can completely outplay the rest of the League of Legends scene. However, deciding who to keep and who to let go is a question that has never been easy for coaches, and this is likely the real pressure awaiting Coach Hirai.