After two years away from the LCK and a World Championship under his belt, Viper has officially signed with Hanwha Life Esports to mark his return to South Korea.
It’d be fair to say that Viper’s time in the LPL was successful. From staying near the top of his region for his entire time on EDG to winning the World Championship in 2021, his transfer from the LCK brought great success to the star ADC player.
However, EDG couldn’t come close to defending their title and got knocked out in the Quarterfinals. In retrospect, their 2-3 loss against 2022 World Champions DRX makes it seem like the team was still fairly strong, but it was a disappointing finish.
Now, Park ‘Viper’ Do-hyeon has confirmed that he’s returning to the LCK with Hanwha Life Esports, the very team that he left when he initially made the move to China.
Viper returns to the LCK with Hanwha Life Esports
Hanwha Life Esports didn’t have a great 2022 season. Dead last in both Spring and Summer certainly wasn’t ideal for the organization, and they’ve dropped most of their roster from the year.
With everyone but their top laner gone, the organization is looking to make some big changes going into 2023.
Hanwha Life Esports has had only a few moments in the limelight since they acquired their spot in the LCK in 2018. While a Worlds 2021 Quarterfinal finish certainly isn’t bad, they’re aiming higher by trying to put together a much better roster. And signing a World Champion ADC is a good start.
The ace ADC player started on Griffn, a now-defunct LCK team that saw many of the world’s best players like Jeong ‘Chovy’ Ji-hoon, Seo ‘Kanavi’ Jin-hyeok, and Lee ‘Tarzan’ Seung-yong during their brief yet impactful time in the LCK.
At the time of writing, the rest of HLE’s entire roster is up in the air. Lee ‘DuDu’ Dong-ju and Viper are the only confirmed players.