Today’s cartoon is about the players that decided to participate in the 2018 Jakarta Palembang Asian Games.

After esports was selected as a demonstration event at the 2018 Asian Games, many fans became more and more worried. While the possibility of earning a gold medal may sound enticing, there are actually very few to zero benefits gained from taking part in the competition. Participants won’t be relieved of their military service duty and won’t receive any pension even if they were to win the gold medal. The tight schedule, lack of practice time, and the potential criticism if they don’t perform well certainly seem to outweigh the only reward: honor. Many fans have been saying that ‘There’s no point participating in the Asian Games’ or ‘Only the players who really want to win a title will go’. For the most part, these opinions are pretty reasonable.

However, the players who decided to participate are a lot more determined and driven than most fans thought. As if to spite those who were saying ‘Who would take part in such a high-risk-low-return competition?’, several very experienced veterans agreed to participate. “There’s no reason to say no.” “It’s an honor.” The comments from the players and the coach made it seem like they were not concerned with the risks many fans focused on. The players were very thankful and honored to be representing Korea. Seeing the resolute perspective of the players, the sceptic murmurs of the fans turned to cheers. It seems that the players valued honor much more than the fans had assumed.

As everyone knows, the road they need to traverse will be long and bumpy. There’s really not enough time to build teamwork with the other team members, and the opponents won’t be easy to overcome. The team may not be able to deliver a perfect performance. Fully aware of the struggle ahead, the players decided to go through with it and fight for the honor of their nation. Hopefully, that pure mindset of the players will stir the fans’ hearts, and the Asian Games will resound with their cheers.

‘Who would go when there’s no reward?’ Ashamed that I ever had that thought, I send my best wishes to the first ever esports national team of Korea for the Asian Games.