On September 20, 2025, longtime LCK jungler Han "Peanut" Wang-ho announced hat he would not be active in 2026 as he will be completing his mandatory military service, a requirement for all Korean men. Today’s 3-0 victory over KT Rolster marked his final appearance at LoL Park. With this win, HLE secured their spot in the LCK grand final in Incheon, to be played in front of thousands of fans, and also qualified for Worlds in China — the only major title Peanut has yet to win. This will be his last shot.

Year after year, LCK legends reach an age where they can no longer postpone their military service. Some have managed to dodge it for good by winning the Asian Games, which grants an exemption to anyone who brings home a medal for the country — such as Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok, Choi "Zeus" Woo-je, and Jeong "Chovy" Ji-hoon. Others haven’t had that chance and will need to complete roughly a year and a half of service before turning 30. Peanut will be 28 in early February.

More than ten years at the top

In 2025 it’s Peanut’s turn; last year it was Kim "Deft" Hyuk-kyu who ended his career to fulfill his military service. LCK players often retire around the age of 28, and even the legendary Peanut will not escape that fate. But before laying down his weapons to take up new ones, Peanut spent over a decade at the top of the world’s best leagues.

He began his career with NaJin e-mFire alongside the legendary Lee "Duke" Ho-seong, before moving to the ROX Tigers, a roster remembered for its moving story — a group of friends who reached the peak of the LCK with a Summer 2016 title before falling 3-2 to SKT T1 at Worlds semifinals, in what is still considered one of the greatest best-of series in League of Legends history. Unable to beat them, he joined them. SKT T1 had been impressed by Peanut, and with them he won the 2017 Spring Split and the MSI, before losing the Summer and Worlds finals to Samsung Galaxy.

In 2018 he joined Kingzone DragonX, winning yet another LCK title and reaching the MSI final, where they fell to Royal Never Give Up. That same year, he represented Korea at the Asian Games alongside Faker, losing in the final to China. From 2019 to 2021, Peanut went through a rough stretch. With Gen.G he missed playoffs for an entire year, then moved to LGD Gaming in the LPL, scraping into Worlds but failing to make it out of groups. Returning to Korea with Nongshim RedForce, he again failed to find success.

Aged like fine wine

In 2022 Peanut came back to the forefront with Gen.G, joining Choi "Doran" Hyeon-joon, Chovy, 2017 world champion Park "Ruler" Jae-hyuk, and Son "Lehends" Si-woo. The roster won the LCK Summer Split but lost to DRX, the underdog story of that year, in the Worlds semifinals. In 2023, Ruler left for JD Gaming in China, while rising star Kim "Peyz" Su-hwan joined Gen.G. The roster dominated both Spring and Summer domestically but was knocked out by Bilibili Gaming at both MSI and Worlds, in the lower bracket semifinals and quarterfinals respectively — a major disappointment.

In 2024 Peanut took on a new challenge with Hanwha Life Esports, symbolically the organization that had inherited the ROX Tigers slot. The team shocked the league by winning the LCK Summer Split, but once again Peanut fell short of a Worlds title.

2025 began in the best possible way for Peanut and HLE with wins at the LCK Cup and First Stand, but Spring and Summer proved more difficult. Still, HLE rediscovered their form in playoffs with back-to-back clean sweeps, first against T1 and then KT, securing a place in the grand final and guaranteeing themselves at least the second seed for Worlds.