Noah Delays Military Service for LEC Return in 2027

Korean bot laner Oh 'Noah' Hyeon-taek will return to professional League of Legends competition after successfully delaying his mandatory military service. Noah was dropped from GIANTX's LEC roster in June as part of a Summer Split rebuild, with academy ADC Víctor 'Flakked' Lirola Tortosa promoted in his place.

The move raised concerns about Noah's future in esports. Korean law restricts overseas travel for men who have not completed mandatory military service, and Noah will turn 25 in October, the age at which service becomes increasingly difficult to defer. However, he revealed on Twitter that he has secured permission to delay service until 2028, giving him two more years to compete.

Noah shared personal updates alongside his announcement. He has lost 18 kg of body weight since July and has been grinding solo queue in Korea, reaching 1700 lp with a 70% winrate. "Without competing for some months, I started to miss competition and I'm missing my friends in Europe and the LEC," Noah wrote. "I heard that I can delay military until 2028 (2 more years!) so I will try to comeback and put my everything until [my career] ends."

His return mirrors that of his former bot lane partner Yoon 'Jun' Se-jun, who has also successfully delayed military service and is set to sign with Team Heretics, according to reporting from Sheep Esports. Both players faced the same service deadline concerns when they left the LEC.

Noah spent roughly a year and a half with GIANTX before the roster changes. No LEC team has announced his signing, but his announcement signals he is actively pursuing offers for the 2027 season.