LoL - Worlds 2025: AL-HLE, Peanut’s revenge

The Worlds Main Stage kicks off on October 15, following the Play-In day that ended with the reigning double World Champions, T1, securing their qualification against Invictus Gaming. The Swiss Stage draw took place right after the series, setting up several exciting matchups: Fnatic will face a tough challenge against CTBC Flying Oyster, G2 Esports will meet Top Esports once again, and T1 are set to take on FlyQuest. But the highlight of the Round 1 will undoubtedly be the clash between Hanwha Life Esports and Anyone’s Legend.

The series will be the only LCK vs LPL matchup of the Swiss Stage’s opening round. Both teams enter as their region’s second seed, but neither looks to be at their peak form this year. HLE were the best team in the world early in the season, while AL peaked during Split 2. This clash will be crucial in defining each team’s potential to make a deep run at Worlds.

The two teams have already faced each other this year at the Esports World Cup in Riyadh, where AL won 2-1 in the quarterfinals, marking the first Chinese victory over a Korean team in 2025. Since then, things have shifted: AL has frequently struggled during the Summer Split, while HLE managed to win key playoff matches to reach the LCK Grand Final, which they ultimately lost to Gen.G.

HLE therefore enter in better form, with a far more experienced botlane. Park "Viper" Do-hyeon is heading into his fifth Worlds and is considered one of the best in his role worldwide. Only the top-jungle duo is evenly matched, with World Champions on both sides of the toplane. At 27, Li "Flandre" Xuan-Jun still performs at a very high level, but he will face a tough challenge against Choi "Zeus" Woo-Je. World Champion Kim "Zeka" Geon-woo is preparing for his third Worlds and is cementing his place among the LCK’s top mids, while Cui "Shanks" Xiao-Jun is making his first steps in international competition.

Probably the two players who will have the biggest impact on this BO1, Lee "Tarzan" Seung-yong is by far the best player of the year for Anyone’s Legend; whenever the team wins, it often goes through him. On HLE’s side, Han "Peanut" Wang-ho isn’t the main star of his team but has still had a solid year. Tomorrow, facing Tarzan, Peanut will try to narrow the gap in their head-to-heads.

The two junglers have faced each other 15 times since 2018, with nine wins for Tarzan, seven of them from his time on Griffin. Overall, the stats favor AL’s jungler in 2025, with a higher KDA and more Kill Participation. Tarzan is the cornerstone of AL, who will look to defeat HLE despite the recent form giving the Korean team a slight edge.

While Tarzan generally has the upper hand, AL also came out on top in their most recent meeting at the EWC. Tarzan delivered a dominant series, clearly outclassing Peanut across all three games. Flandre also had a standout performance, holding his own against Zeus, who even pulled out a rare Lee Sin top in Game 3—the only one of his career. Since then, momentum has slightly shifted toward HLE, but in a BO1, anything can happen.