Uzi officially leaves RNG, joins multi-channel network

Former RNG bot laner and veteran Jian “Uzi” Zi-Hao has officially parted ways with the esports organization. 

After being away from the competitive scene for over a year, Uzi has now left his home at RNG to seek new opportunities elsewhere. After retiring, Uzi has been pursuing streaming and will continue to do so at “小象大鹅”, which is a multi-channel network that will hopefully help Uzi boost his streaming career. Since retiring, Uzi has still been under contract with RNG as a content creator instead of an active player. Uzi has been with the RNG organization for nearly the entirety of his career, so this move is big. 

The news was revealed by Uzi himself on Weibo, as he stated that he had joined the multi-channel network to help him grow further as a streamer. What this means in practice is still unknown, but it seems that his new contract will help him out with streaming, as well as future advertisements and collaborations. 

Uzi might not have left RNG on the best terms

After the announcement that Uzi had left RNG was out, a new post arrived on Weibo that instantly created speculations about Uzi and RNG’s relationship. In a post made by Uzi’s girlfriend, Nanny, she describes RNG as a cold-blooded team. 

This could indicate that RNG might not have treated Uzi respectfully after he retired as a professional player. While it’s currently speculation, it’s not unthinkable that RNG has tried to use Uzi and his brand for its own interest even after he stopped as a professional player. Uzi was, and still is, the biggest League of Legends player to come out of China, and his brand value shouldn’t be underestimated. In the future, Uzi will be independent of the RNG brand for the first time in years, which might give him better opportunities as a content creator in the future. 

Will Uzi come back to pro LoL?

Uzi making a return to competitive League of Legends seems more unlikely than ever before after leaving RNG. While fans have been longing for Uzi to return after being in recovery from his health problems, it seems further away than ever before now that  he is no longer attached to a professional esports organization. 

It’s still a possibility that Uzi will return to the LPL or some other league in the future, but for now, it seems likely that Uzi will spend the upcoming years as a streamer and content creator. 

Why did Uzi quit competitive LoL?

After a successful career, Uzi announced his retirement from professional LoL in 2020 because of injuries and diabetes. At the time, Uzi was advised to retire from professional play before it could damage his health even more. Uzi ended his career after almost eight years in the scene.