Uzi Makes His Return to Pro Play After Over 2 Years

One of League of Legends’ most famous pro players, attack-damage carry (ADC) Jian “Uzi” Zi-Hao, made his return to the League of Legends Pro League (LPL) by debuting for Bilibili Gaming on 17th Feb. He has broken his hiatus of over two years to represent Bilibili Gaming (BLG) in its series against Invictus Gaming (IG) during the 2022 LPL Spring Split. Uzi has stepped foot on the LPL stage after 895 days.

Uzi joined BLG during the off-season but started playing for the team just recently. This is very typical of Uzi to not play in the opening weeks of the split up until the Lunar New Year since it was the same case during his tenure at Royal Never Give Up. Even in this series against IG, Uzi was not named in the starting roster but was later subbed in after the team lost the first game of the best-of-three (BO3) series.

Entering this series, BLG was 4-2 and IG was 2-5. While BLG has been on a losing streak recently, IG has put up a strong showing in the past few matches.

After 895 days, the man is back, UZI! #LPL

Uzi subbed in BLG vs IG now!
: https://t.co/50yzwExOBw
: https://t.co/DXGkdffdYQ
: https://t.co/5FHTKRyVW0 pic.twitter.com/1fEwG5TguH

— LPL (@lplenglish) February 17, 2022

Uzi’s debut for Bilibili Gaming

Uzi was known for his aggression and hard carry playstyle and often the team would play around him. League of Legends fans loved watching Uzi play around champions that scale into the late game. Jinx is one such champion who is known for her kiting and late-game prowess. Watching Uzi get his hands on Jinx during the second match of the series looked promising.

He got an early kill and snowballed through the game. His crucial triple kill during an intense base defense got his team a much-needed victory point in the BO3 series. Uzi finished the game with a KDA of 11/4/7, marking his return loud and clear.

You can’t just leave Uzi alone and expect to win the fight! #LPL #CrazyIsOurGame pic.twitter.com/lBrjAPeC8N

— LPL (@lplenglish) February 18, 2022

After tying the series with IG by going 1-1, the third match did not go according to plan for BLG. IG turned the tides in the third match and won the series. Uzi was back on Jinx while IG’s ADC picked up the dominant Zeri. Uzi’s KDA at the end of the third match was 5/3/5, still a strong showing given that he was against the likes of Akali, Zeri, and Nautilus.

With this loss, Bilibili Gaming is in seventh place in the standings.

Finding a spot in BLG

Looking back at how the league was played in 2020 and comparing it with today’s level of play, it is safe to say that Uzi will have to step up and perform consistently in this competitive environment. Mid-tier teams and the lower-tier teams are also rounded ones and often take regular wins from the very best in the league.

Uzi, whilst performing better in the league, has to still compete with BLG’s starting ADC player Chiu “Doggo” Tzu-Chuan.

Doggo quickly rose to fame and glory after his performance through the 2021 Mid-Season Invitational and Worlds. He seems to be a strong addition to the team. He has the second highest average creep score (CS) per minute in the LPL and he has also managed to stay relevant in terms of damage dealt and gold earned, even when he was focused by the enemies.

Uzi’s return to LPL might have been bittersweet with the loss against IG, but fans are elated to see the star player rise to glory yet again. However, only time will tell when Uzi will reach his peak form and whether he will play for BLG more often.

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