Faker Pays at Haidilao? Peanut’s Dinner Table Photo Spreads

On May 25, a South Korean female streamer eating at Haidilao unexpectedly spotted Faker and former teammate Peanut dining together, then saw Faker at the cashier paying the bill. The moment spread across social platforms soon after. For fans of League of Legends, it was a rare off-stage glimpse of a player usually framed by nothing but competition and pressure.

The scene itself was unremarkable at first glance: warm store lighting, people moving past, and then Lee Sang-hyeok appearing just beyond the frame. The streamer said she first saw Peanut walk past her, then recognized Faker at the counter. She also said this was the closest she had ever been to him, and that she was extremely nervous before eventually getting a photo together. It is the kind of encounter that feels small in the moment, then grows larger every time it is retold.

What gives the story its extra edge is the history behind it. Faker and Peanut once played together on SKT T1. Peanut later transferred away, and the two eventually became opponents on stage. Seeing them at the same table in a restaurant naturally invites a different reading than seeing them across a Rift. It also explains why people quickly turned the story into a joke about Faker breaking his image as someone who never likes to treat others.

That image, of course, has been around for years. Fans have long teased Faker for being frugal, and the old “five people sharing one can of cola” anecdote remains one of the best-known examples. So when the cashier photo started circulating, the reaction was almost inevitable: here was the same player once associated with penny-pinching, now standing at the register and paying up.

Still, what makes the episode stick is not the joke itself but the way it pulls an esports icon back into ordinary life. Big names become most relatable in moments like this, when they are not on stage, not in draft, and not framed by a trophy graphic, but simply eating, paying, and taking a photo like everyone else.