Peanut leaving League of Legends pro scene in 2026

Hanwha Life Esports‘ jungler Han ‘Peanut’ Wang-ho has revealed that he will be leaving the pro League of Legends scene in 2026 to complete mandatory military service.

Hanwha Life Esports is currently on its way to the LCK Grand Final and has already qualified for the League of Legends World Championship 2025, which will take place in China starting October 14th. Peanut will be looking for a Worlds win before leaving for the military.

Military service is mandatory for South Korean men, and many LCK players have left the scene to complete it. Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok was notoriously exempt from winning the Asian Games, something that other pros have also used to avoid service. Peanut has been postponing it for a few years, but by 2026 he will be required since he will be 28 in February next year.

September 20th was his final day at LoL Park. After a winning match over KT Rolster, Peanut said: “Thank you for everything, thank you everyone.”

Peanut joined SKT T1 in 2016 when the organisation expressed interest in him after watching Peanut’s intense season with ROX Tigers despite a loss to SKT T1 in the Worlds semifinals. With SKT T1, Peanut won the 2017 Spring Split and Mid-Season Invitational.

Peanut has moved around a lot during his long career in League of Legends. He even joined Faker to represent Korea at the Asian Games in 2018 but lost to China. He’s competed with Kingzone DragonX, Gen.G and LGD Gaming in the LPL.

In 2022, Peanut saw success with an intense Gen.G roster, winning the LCK Summer Split but then losing Worlds in the semifinals. In 2024, Peanut joined Hanwha Life Esports and helped push the underdog team to win the LCK Summer Split. The team has had mixed results in 2025, from winning the LCK Cup and First Stand to flopping during the Summer Split. The Playoffs saw Hanwha dominate once more.

It’s looking like a strong season going into Worlds. Will Peanut be able to finally win a Worlds title before heading to the military?