Jian Zihao (Chinese: 简自豪, born April 5, 1997), better known as Uzi, is a former Chinese professional League of Legends player. Uzi is renowned for his mechanical prowess on champions such as Vayne, Kai'Sa, Ezreal and Kog'Maw.[2][3][4][5] He was well known as the franchise player for Royal Never Give Up and its predecessors, although he also played briefly for OMG[6] and Newbee.[7]
Uzi officially announced his retirement from professional play on Weibo on 3 June 2020.[9] Uzi ended his career due to personal health issues.[10]
Uzi signed with Edward Gaming on June 10th, 2023 to play competitively again during the summer split, but the team would place 8th and fail to qualify for worlds. November 22nd, after worlds ended, Uzi would announce his retirement once more on stream, stating that he felt defeated by reality, and that he had lost the desire to play competitively.[11]
Career
Uzi began his professional career on the Chinese team Royal Club. Widely considered as one of the best AD carries during seasons three and four, Uzi demonstrated his great mechanic prowess and carried his team to two consecutive second-place finishes at the League of Legends World Championship in both 2013 and 2014. Despite their success at Season 3 Worlds, the departure of Tabe prompted Uzi to switch to the mid lane at the start of Season 4 before returning to the ADC role during the summer. Renamed to Star Horn Royal Club, Uzi with Korean imports inSec and Zero rose to the challenge and finished second at worlds with a 1:3 series against one of the best teams ever, Samsung White. And he left the Royal club for the communication problem with Korean imports.
Season 5 however, proved to be a slump in Uzi's career after moving to OMG. Despite being touted as one of the biggest talent transfers of the offseason, OMG incurred difficulties in integrating Uzi to the team. Coupled with the decline of Gogoing and Lovelin, Season 5 was a disappointing one for Uzi. Uzi was picked up by Qiao Gu Reapers and was their sub for Peco. QG was invited to IEM Katowice in March 2016 where they beat Fnatic in their first best of one but were then subsequently eliminated in the group stages following a loss to SK Telecom T1 and then losing to Fnatic 1 - 2.
In May 2016, Qiao Gu Reapers was acquired by Newbee. However, five days later Uzi's contract was bought out by Royal Never Give Up.
On 3 June 2020, Uzi announced his retirement from professional gaming, citing health concerns. In a statement he said, "As a result of staying up late for years, a fatty diet and being under insurmountable stress, last year I found out that I was type-2 diabetic." He added that his mental state was "not as good as it was before". In an effort to recover, he took medication and made changes to his work schedule and exercise habits, but his situation did not change. His doctor told him there could be "serious complications" if he continued playing competitively.[12][13]
On 15 Dec 2021, Uzi announced he will return to the game and join BLG (Bilibili Gaming) as AD player. At the same time, Crisp Breath and Doggo join the BLG too. Uzi himself also responded to this situation. In the past two years, exercise and fitness have become indispensable things in his daily life, so he is still relatively confident in his body. But in the 2021 Spring LPL (League of Legends Pro League), Uzi has not participated any official game yet. On 1 Jan 2021, RNG (Royal Never Give up) 2:1 BLG (Bilibili Gaming). Uzi did not participate the game.
^Rand, Emily (3 June 2020). "LoL star bot laner 'Uzi' retires, citing injuries". ESPN. Retrieved 9 June 2020. He is considered the greatest bot laner of all time, not only in China's LoL Pro League but in all of League of Legends.
^"Rekkles Ranks ADC Players Worldwide From Best To Worst". Inven Global. [Interviewer:] 'Could you rank these players from best to worst?' Rekkles: 'I haven't played against everyone here, but I have definitely seen them play. Uzi is for sure the best.'
^Cogley, M. (2020, June 5). Esports 'icon' retires at 23 due to health concerns - Diabetes and shoulder pain are among the problems that have brought League of Legends player Uzi's career to an early close. The Daily Telegraph/The Sunday Telegraph: Web Edition Articles (London, England). Available from NewsBank: Access World News – Historical and Current: https://infoweb-newsbank-com.proxy.library.nyu.edu/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&docref=news/17B6B153F65D05D0.
^"EDG正式官宣签约《英雄联盟》传奇选手Uzi" [EDG officially announced the signing of legendary "League of Legends" player Uzi]. IFENG (in Chinese). 10 June 2023. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
