LoL - Worlds 2025: Hanwha Life Esports, the calm before the last storm (14/17)

The League of Legends 2025 World Championship kicks off in Beijing on the 14th of October. A total of 17 teams will compete to, again, succeed T1 at the top of the Riot Games MOBA world hierarchy. On this occasion, Sheep Esports brings you a daily feature on one of the teams taking part. On October 10th, the fourteenth episode of our series focuses on Hanwha Life Esports.

Few teams embody resilience and competitive hunger quite like HLE. As Korea’s second seed, the LCK contenders arrive at Worlds 2025 with the tools, the pedigree, and the motivation to chase the organization’s first Summoner’s Cup. Built around superstar talent and seasoned leadership, HLE’s 2025 season has been one of growth, redemption, and stability — and for one of Korea’s icons, it might also be the final chapter.

Hanwha entered 2025 with a statement signing that shook the LCK: the arrival of Choi "Zeus" Woo-je. The two-time world champion from T1 instantly elevated the team’s identity, bringing toplane supremacy and championship experience to a roster already stacked with world-class names. The impact was immediate. Hanwha claimed the LCK Cup title, thriving in clutch situations and earning a reputation as a team that never backs down, with several consecutive Game 5 triumphs defining their playoff run.

That fighting spirit carried into the First Stand, where Hanwha Life Esports crushed every other major region's champion like CTBC Flying Oyster, Top Esports, Team Liquid, and Karmine Corp. They won the tournament as expected and without ever truly being pushed to their limits. Though the rest of the season brought stiffer competition and inconsistent internal form, HLE preserved its core identity: a team that thrives under pressure and adapts when the stakes are highest. The perfect example of that is the clean sweep they inflicted on T1 to qualify for Worlds.

Last year, HLE fell in the quarterfinals, in what was arguably one of the most entertaining series of the tournament. Their 1–3 loss to Bilibili Gaming in Paris marked a bittersweet end to their Worlds campaign — a graceful exit that still left a sense of unfinished business. Now heading into their third Worlds appearance, the Korean squad return with a clear goal in mind: to finally break past the quarterfinal barrier that has eluded them throughout their history.

At the center of it all stands Han “Peanut” Wang-ho. The veteran jungler, one of Korea’s longest-serving stars, announced this would be his final year before mandatory military service. Worlds 2025 may thus serve as the emotional epilogue to a legendary career defined by both triumphs and heartbreaks. Despite the weight of that farewell narrative, Peanut continues to perform at an elite level, directing the team’s tempo through razor-sharp vision setups and objective control. When Hanwha play their best, it’s rarely without Peanut orchestrating the game’s flow.

Behind the star power of Zeus and Peanut stands a roster built for durability and depth. Jeong "Zeka" Geon-woo remains a proven international midlaner, capable of swinging entire series when the meta aligns to his comfort picks. Though his domestic summer had ups and downs, his track record on global stages — from Worlds 2022 to this year’s First Stand — makes him one of the tournament’s most battle-tested players.

In the botlane, Park "Viper" Do-hyeon and Yoo "Delight" Hwan-joong compose one of the most reliable duos in the world. Viper retains his status among the top five AD carries globally, unmatched in late-game positioning and damage output, while Delight continues to serve as the team’s enabler. His exceptional map activity and high kill participation—among the best of all LCK supports—allow Hanwha to often build early momentum around the map.

Under head coach Choi "DanDy" In-kyu, a 2014 world champion with Samsung White, Hanwha Life Esports have undergone a remarkable transformation. Since joining the team in 2023, Dandy has rebuilt the organization’s identity from the ground up, turning an inconsistent mid-table roster into one of Korea’s most stable and feared lineups.

Two years later, that long-term vision reaches its peak at Worlds 2025. For Zeus, this tournament could cement his place among the all-time great toplaners. For Peanut, it represents the perfect closing act to a storied career. And for HLE, it’s the culmination of a project driven by patience, structure, and an unshakable belief in their growth. Korea’s second seed has never looked more complete. And this time, they might finally finish the story.