Hanwha Life Esports ended the Round Robin Stage of First Stand with a tiebreaker win against Team Liquid, progressing through to the Knockout Stage.
Han ‘Peanut‘ Wang-ho told Esports Insider that Hanwha Life Esports, comprised of former rivals turned teammates, are determined to “show a better result” in future matches.
The Korean esports team has proven to be the strongest roster so far in League of Legends First Stand 2025, winning every match they’ve played so far.
This is the current game history of Hanwha Life Esports in First Stand:
- March 10: Hanwha Life Esports 2-0 Top Esports
- March 12: Hanwha Life Esports 2-0 CBTC Flying Oyster
- March 13: Hanwha Life Esports 2-1 Karmine Corp
- March 14: Hanwha Life Esports 2-1 Team Liquid
Hanwha’s Former Rivals Unite as Favourites to Win
Ever since the landslide sweep against Top Esports and CBTC Flying Oyster, the Korean region has been the favourite to win the League of Legends tournament.
And it comes to no surprise considering the members of its team. It’s comprised of players who once faced off against each other in other settings such as League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK), now fighting side by side as allies.
Peanut faced off against Choi ‘Zeus‘ Woo-je, a former toplaner for T1 in several LCK summer and spring tournaments. He’s also butted heads with Park ‘Viper‘ Do-hyeon, botlaner of Hanwha Life Esports, while he was still part of Gen.G in LCK Summer 2024.
Despite the unique circumstances, Peanut expressed that he only ever saw the positives of his new teammates.
In an interview with Esports Insider, he said: “I never once thought about a rival becoming a teammate, I never really processed it that way.
“So right now, I’m so used to thinking that a good and skilled and talented player has become a part of our team and is now my teammate. It’s as straight forward as ‘someone like Zeus is a part of my team.’”
Despite Winning, Hanwha Life Still Has Issues “To Fix”
This is the current line-up of Hanwha Life Esports for League of Legends 2025:
- Botlaner: Park ‘Viper’ Do-hyeon
- Midlaner: Kim ‘Zeka’ Geon-woo
- Toplaner: Choi ‘Zeus’ Woo-je
- Jungler: Han ‘Peanut’ Wang-ho
- Support: Yu ‘Delight’ Hwan-jung
Fans, casters and players alike have acknowledged that Hanwha has assembled an incredibly strong line-up comprised of former world champions.
Despite the praise, the Korean team faced a few close calls, including the tiebreakers with Team Liquid and Karmine Corp.
Peanut said: “Our performance was above average, and I think we still see some parts where we need to fix. So I think in the end, in order to prove that we are the true favourites, we just have to be more skilled with our best-of-fives and show a better result based on that.”
The First Stand also saw the return of the Fearless Draft format, which prohibits players from using previously selected champions in addition to the standard bans.
In a game where players are forced to inhabit ‘every possible comp you can see,’ Peanut stressed the importance of an organised team.
“My teammates are playing quite well,” he said, “and I think because of their high performance, they’re allowing and enabling me to play as much as I can and just as well.”
