One of League of Legends’ most famous professional players, ADC Jian “Uzi” Zi-Hao, has made his return to competitive play making his debut for LPL side Bilibili Gaming.
The 2018 MSI champion joined the franchise during the off-season and, in typical Uzi fashion, didn’t play in the opening weeks of the split before the Lunar New Year. This was often the case during his time with former team Royal Never Give Up. Bilibili Gaming had still not named him to its starting roster for the series against Invictus Gaming, but a loss in the opening game of a best-of-three series prompted Uzi’s substitution and, as a result, first LPL appearance in 895 days.
His first match back couldn’t have gone any better. Playing only his seventh career Jinx match, he took an early kill then went on to claim a triple kill during an intense base defense. He finally finished the game with a bloated scoreline that included 11 kills and 17 assists to just four deaths. This netted Bilibili Gaming and Uzi a victory in his return to action.
After tying up at 1-1, the third game in the series did not go to plan as Invictus turned the series back in its favor to claim a 2-1 win, despite a strong start to the match from Uzi’s bottom lane. Regardless, Uzi doesn’t seem to have lost a step and looks ready to return to form in short order.
Uzi retired from pro League of Legends in 2019 due to hand and shoulder injuries.
Uzi had initially retired back in 2019 after a seven-year career which saw him claim both an MSI and Asian Games title in 2018, while also finishing as a runner-up in the World Championship on two consecutive occasions back in 2013 and 2014.
His tendency to intensely practice for hours on end ultimately took a physical toll on the player, with injuries to his hands and shoulders hindering his ability to practice. This was the main reason cited for his retirement. Such training methods were also coupled with an unhealthy diet, leading to his development of type-2 diabetes.
Thankfully the time off has allowed Uzi to deal with his health issues, leading to his eagerly awaited return this season.
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