Faker sends heartfelt message to Uzi after retirement announcement

Few were shocked when Jian “Uzi” Zi-Hao retired from League of Legends last week due to his ongoing health problems. That doesn’t mean people weren’t saddened by the news, though. 

Uzi first reported serious injuries last year, revealing in an interview that he had terrible arm pain that kept him from scrimming with his Royal Never Give Up teammates. He then became a free agent, leading many to wonder if the benched veteran would be signed to RNG again, or if he was set to go elsewhere. Instead, Uzi announced his retirement due to developing diabetes. 

While Uzi stated that he would love to return to competitive League of Legends if his health improves, for now the scene has lost a legendary AD Carry. 

In response to Uzi’s departure, T1’s mid laner Sang-hyeok “Faker” Lee, another LoL legend, expressed his admiration for Uzi. His recorded video messages on Twitter expressed that he couldn’t quite believe that Uzi was retiring.

“He’s always been hard working, so it’s a great pity that he’s now retired,” Faker explained. 

Faker admitted that his heart felt “heavy” when he thought of Uzi leaving the competitive scene. He also urged Uzi’s fans to continue supporting him, no matter his decision. 

As highly respected and talented players in the League of Legends community, it’s no surprise that Uzi and Faker have had many encounters. They both started their careers around 2012 and have faced each other in various international competitions. Because of this, they clearly have a lot of respect for one another. 

In 2019, they met at Worlds and complimented each other for their playstyles. They also shared a lot of the same views on a variety of topics.