Han “Peanut” Wang-ho’s run as one of the LCK’s most iconic junglers is coming to an end. After defeating KT Rolster in the upper bracket of the LCK Season Finals, Peanut confirmed this will be his last year before he sets off for the mandatory military service.
The last dance for Peanut
Peanut made the announcement on the last series at LoL Park as HLE punched their ticket to the LCK grand final in Incheon next weekend. With the victory over KT, HLE is now guaranteed to be at least the #2 seed for the LCK and will fly over to China for Worlds 2025.
Therefore, this will be Peanut’s last chance to clinch the title. Many other pros, including former DRX world champion Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu, were forced to leave the scene for military service. Currently, the only players who have received an exemption are those who won the gold medal at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, including Faker, Chovy, Zeus, Ruler, Kanavi, and Keria.
Peanut on his last day at LoL PARK: "Thank you for everything, thank you everyone!" 🥜♥️ @lolPeanut98 #LCK pic.twitter.com/u2xRCEGRaR
— LCK (@LCK) September 20, 2025
The 2025 season started off great for Peanut, who were able to win the LCK Cup and First Stand, the first international tournament of the season. Since then, however, HLE had struggled, failing to qualify for MSI and often stumbling against the other two powerhouses, T1 and Gen.G.
Against all expectations, however, HLE turned it around in playoffs once again, destroying T1 in the upper bracket with a 3-0 score. Paired with the other convincing win against KT, HLE are now looking like serious contenders for the LCK title. Will this give HLE the needed buff to fight for the crown? This will be one of the main storylines for the season-end tournament.
Peanut has over ten years of competitive experience and has often been regarded as one of the best junglers to have ever come out of Korea. Starting with NaJin e-mFire in 2015, before joining ROX Tigers the following year, Peanut quickly made a name for himself by capturing the LCK summer title that year and finishing in the top four at Worlds, forcing T1 to a full five-game series.
His outstanding performance was what allowed him to join T1 in 2017, lifting more LCK and MSI trophies. That year, however, T1 ended up losing the grand final to Ruler’s Samsung Galaxy, the closest Peanut had ever been to the Summoner’s Cup. In 2018, he joined Kingzone DragonX but despite domestic dominance in spring, the team failed Worlds qualification.
The struggles and the return to glory
Throughout those years, Peanut was always considered a top-tier jungler in the scene. The results, however, started tumbling, having had difficult seasons in Gen.G, LDG Gaming, and Nongshim RedForce.
The return to glory came in 2022, when he reunited with Gen.G and helped the team clinch an LCK Summer title that year and back-to-back championships in 2023. Unfortunately, the Worlds trophy never materialized, with Gen.G eliminated in quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively.
In 2024, he moved to Hanwha Life Esports, delivering the long-awaited LCK Summer title. In what looked like one of the best ways to headline Worlds, HLE was eliminated early on by the LPL’s BiliBili Gaming, who knocked them out in the quarterfinals.
