HLE bow out of the competition, marking Peanut's final game as a LoL Esports professional.
The quarterfinals of the League of Legends (LoL) World Championship 2025 delivered an intense all-LoL Champions Korea (LCK) showdown as 
Gen.G and 
Hanwha Life Esports (HLE) battled for a coveted spot in the semifinals. In the end, the reigning LCK and Mid-Season Invitational champions, Gen.G, proved too strong, taking the series 3-1.
Road to the Knockouts
Hanwha Life Esports entered Worlds 2025 as the LCK’s second seed. Their Swiss Stage run started shakily with a loss to the LoL Pro League's (LPL) 
Anyone's Legend, but the team quickly found their rhythm. HLE swept through the following rounds, defeating 
PSG Talon of the LoL Championship Pacific (LCP), overpowering 
100 Thieves, and finally sweeping 
CTBC Flying Oyster 2-0 to lock in their quarterfinals berth.
Gen.G’s journey through Swiss was less straightforward than expected. They opened with a win over PSG Talon but were caught off guard by Anyone’s Legend in Round 2. Fate then set up an early clash with their long-time rivals, 
T1, where Gen.G prevailed. They secured their Knockouts spot with a commanding win over 
Top Esports, proving they were still a team built for the big stage.
How Gen.G took down HLE 3-1
The series kicked off in familiar LCK fashion, with both sides cautiously trading objectives and keeping gold and kills close through the early game. But the tempo shifted at the Dragon pit, where Gen.G outmanoeuvred HLE in a decisive fight. Soon after, they punished HLE’s Baron take, wiping out two members and seizing control of the map.
Despite HLE’s best efforts to claw back in team fights, Gen.G maintained composure and snowballed their lead. After a 33-minute clash and a 20–15 kill lead, the LCK champions took the first game.
Game 2 delivered one of the most thrilling spectacles of the tournament so far. Both sides traded blows in marathon-length fights that pushed the match past the 58-minute mark, making it the longest game of Worlds 2025 to date.
HLE found openings through clever ambushes, but Gen.G’s resilience and macro control shone through once more. With a 28–22 kill lead, Gen.G closed out the extended battle and went up 2-0.
Refusing to go quietly, HLE hit back in Game 3. They secured early objectives across the Rift and never let go of the tempo. 
Park “Viper” Do-hyeon was a standout, going 9/0/9 on Sivir in a commanding performance that reignited HLE’s hopes. After a swift 31-minute stomp and a 22–6 kill lead, HLE claimed their first win of the series.
But Gen.G were not about to let the series slip away. In Game 4, Kim “Canyon” Geon-bu brought out Nidalee, and Park “Ruler” Jae-hyuk’s performance on Yunara proved unstoppable. Gen.G dismantled HLE’s scaling composition, controlling every major fight and objective. After a decisive mid-lane skirmish, Gen.G closed out the match in just 31 minutes with a 19–6 kill lead, sealing the series 3-1.
With the win, Gen.G advance to the semifinals, where they will face the winner of KT Rolster vs CTBC Flying Oyster.
End of an era for Peanut
The series also marked the end of an era, as veteran jungler Han “Peanut” Wang-ho played his final professional match. With HLE’s exit, Peanut concludes an illustrious career spanning over a decade, as he prepares to begin his mandatory military service.
Peanut began his journey in 2014 with 
NaJin e-mfire/Masters before rising to prominence with 
ROX Tigers in 2015. He went on to join T1 alongside Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, winning the 2017 LCK Spring Split and the Mid-Season Invitational that same year. His first stint with Gen.G came in 2018, followed by several years across different teams before returning to Gen.G from 2021 to 2023, during which he captured three domestic titles. In 2024, Peanut joined Hanwha Life Esports, leading them to the 2024 LCK Summer title and the 2025 LCK Cup.
Though HLE bow out of Worlds 2025 in 5th to 8th place, taking home US$300,000. For Gen.G, the journey continues as they chase another shot at the Summoner’s Cup.
