The Chinese team EDward Gaming has now found a silver lining in League of Legends. They originally had a mega talent in their roster with Leave (20), who was crowned “Rookie of the Season.” But the 20-year-old messed up his career. The replacement player Uzi (26) seemed like a desperate move, until he played.
Who did EDward Gaming lose?
- EDward Gaming lost their star ADC Viper in December 2022 and replaced him with a 20-year-old talent, Leave.
- Leave actually made an impact, had a decent season, and was named “Rookie of the Split” in the Chinese league LPL.
- But a week ago, it was revealed, that Leave is quite the character. He used secondary accounts on social media to insult team members, defend himself, and contact prostitutes. Prostitution is illegal in China – which sparked a scandal.
This was now Plan B: EDward Gaming’s first measure was to promote the Academy ADC “TheSnake,” but at the same time, they contacted the 26-year-old streamer “Uzi.”
This already looked a bit desperate. But after the first match, it became clear that TheSnake was not yet fit for high-level play. So Uzi was called in.
Uzi was physically spent at 23 – Now at 26, he is to play LoL professionally again
What was the problem with Uzi? Uzi was probably the mechanically best ADC LoL has ever seen for years. But at just 23, he had to end his career.
The man was physically spent. Doctors confirmed that he had “arms like a 50-year-old,” he suffered from diabetes and could just no longer cope. The pressure as a professional and an unhealthy lifestyle had caught up with him at just 23.
In 2019, there were images from a Nike video showing Uzi doing fitness exercises. He also spoke about his physical problems. He said something like, his lower body felt like it belonged to a stranger:
At 25, he wanted to return to the league, but he couldn’t prove himself, playing only a few games for his team. He couldn’t keep up and decided to become a full-time streamer.
Now Uzi was 26 and hadn’t played at a high level for a long time: 497 days had passed since his last game as a professional.
His signing felt more like a desperate move by EDG, as if they thought: “If we can’t get a strong player in the middle of the season, at least we’ll bring in someone known.”
How was the first game? Although the hype before his signing was huge, not many expected such a strong performance from Uzi.
Uzi seemed to immediately harmonize with his partner Meiko and delivered a strong performance. He played:
- Match 1 on Aphelios 4-2-6 in a win
- Match 2 on Aphelios 4-6-10 in a loss
- Match 3 on Lucian 2-1-4 in the decisive victory
Especially with a scene from Match 1, Uzi was able to impress:
“The old man shows the young ones how it’s done”
How is it being discussed?
- A user comments on the scene in the dragon’s lair with a quote from “Watchmen”: “I am not trapped in here with you. You are trapped in here with me.”
- Another user assesses his game: “11 CS per minute, strong team fight, solid comeback. He needs more time, more training matches, and then he’ll look really good.”
- Especially his strong nerves are praised.
- “I was used to worrying that Uzi was too old for the game. But now he is clearly a tier-1 ADC in the LPL: But for Uzi, it is not enough to be T-1, he still needs a few games to prove that he is the new ADC king of the LPL.”
- “The old man Uzi shows the young ones how it’s done.”
Even before his return, the hype around Uzi was immense.
- A user says: He can’t imagine how Uzi’s actual team, Royal Never Give Up, reacts to “Their hero” now playing for EDG – the fans of RNG hated EDward Gaming so much.
- Others say: They are fans of RNG themselves and are just happy that Uzi is playing again. Many had become fans of RNG just because of him and are now watching a match again after a long break.
- The currently best ADC in LoL, Ruler says: “Unfortunately, Uzi left the scene due to health problems. When I was ready for him, he was no longer there. […] I am very happy about his return. There is kind of a lot of respect between us.”
Let’s see if Uzi’s return is successful in the long run. Other star players have been unable to assert themselves after a break:
