South Korea’s KeSPA has officially appointed Kang “Hirai” Dong-hoon as head coach for its League of Legends team at the Esports Nation Cup (ENC). Paired with the country’s strong history in the game, expectations are already high going into the event.
Hirai will also serve as head coach for South Korea’s League team at the Asian Games, putting him in charge of the national program across two major competitions.
Hirai is a veteran coach in the LoL Esport scene, best known for his work with KT Rolster in the LCK but he has worked closely with many top-tier players in arguably the most competitive regions in the ecosystem and has experience preparing teams for high-pressure matches.
However
Hirai is the only confirmed name from the South Korean League team for either the ENC and Asian Games’ rosters. South Korea’s depth of talent means competition for spots will be intense especially as the country can boast multiple world-class players in each of the five roles. But not even the uncertainty around South Korea’s roster lowered fans’ expectations around its future performance. South Korea is consistently seen as a favorite in international LoL Esports events and Hirai’s appointment adds to the belief that the team will most likely be the one to beat at ENC.
What is ENC?
The ENC is an international esports competition where players represent their countries instead of their regular professional teams across multiple esport titles. The competition will features around 16 different esports titles, but the full list of participating nations and final player rosters has not yet been fully revealed, with announcements still being made ahead of the event.
At the same time the competition is part of a wider debate around Saudi Arabia’s funding some of the biggest esports events in the industry’s calendar.
ENC is hosted, and funded, by the Esport World Cup Fundation as part of Saudi Arabia’s broader
push to expand into gaming through its
Vision 2030 strategy. However, the project has been widely described as sportswashing, with concerns that these events are being used to improve the country’s global image over
ongoing human rights issues in the country.
As the Esports Nation Cup approaches, attention will turn to final roster announcements and how teams like Korea prepare under Hirai’s supervision. At the same time, the ongoing debate over the ethics of Saudi Arabia’s investments in the industry will continue to prevent some esports fans from tuning in to cheer for their own country.
