Uzi, one of the greatest ADCs of all time in League of Legends, is making a return to pro play with 2021 Worlds winning club Edward Gaming in the wake of the EDG Leave scandal.
The last time Jian ‘Uzi’ Zihao played at the highest level was back at Worlds 2019 alongside Royal Never Give Up. However, he retired after suffering a wrist injury and went back to a more relaxed life involving streaming and playing the game for fun. He did join Bilibili Gaming back in 2022, but he barely played on the main roster, making only nine appearances in the Spring split.
It was more of a guest appearance, even though the fanbase got really excited. Shortly afterward, he went inactive and moved away from the professional scene completely.
The 26-year-old bot laner is now ready to take the competitive scene seriously again with a comeback during the 2023 Summer Split of the LPL alongside EDG.
EDG sign Uzi to LoL roster
The LPL confirmed Uzi’s signing on June 10, two days after EDG updated their OBGG with the player’s name on the main roster.
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.
The sudden arrival of Uzi might seem confusing to a lot of fans, but it is not surprising to those who have been following the recent scandals involving Hu ‘Leave’ Hongchao, which have hurt his public image. These include accusations that he used alternate accounts to flame teammate Zhao ‘Jiejie’ Lijie and defend himself on social media.
The man, the myth, the legend!The #LPL welcomes Uzi back as he continues his story with EDG. pic.twitter.com/bRrYe6jWkh
— LPL (@lplenglish) June 10, 2023
The return of Uzi has led to major excitement in the League of Legends community, with one fan going as far as allegedly climbing a tree to peek through a window in the EDG office and see if Uzi was present. And, though it wasn’t an overly clear image, someone in the room bore a striking resemblance to the superstar ADC.
Someone climbed a tree to take a picture of EDG’s training room just to verify if Uzi is actually going to EDG.This is madness. pic.twitter.com/BvRnJmI2pj
— LoL Context-Chan (@LoLContextChan) June 8, 2023
It remains unclear if Uzi will make his debut for EDG on June 10 in the highly anticipated match against MSI 2023 winners JD Gaming. The team has also promoted Kang’ TheSnake’ Guang from their LDL roster and placed him in the ADC role as a temporary sub.