Uzi: The greatest Chinese ADC of the first era of League of Legends

If Faker is considered the best mid laner of all time, then Jian “Uzi” Zi-Hao is considered the “Faker” of the bottom lane in League of Legends. Having started his career around the same time as the Korean player, the two were the most sensational and dominant players in the first era of LoL.

The Chinese ADC played the majority of his career on Royal Never Give Up as its superstar player. Before his retirement, however, Uzi played a short stint on BiliBili Gaming. Now he’s still streaming League and hard-carrying players on the Chinese solo queue.

Image Credits | Riot Games

Uzi and his great success in League of Legends

Uzi began his professional career on the Chinese team Royal Club. Being one of the most mechanical players in the first seasons, Uzi went on to play in two consecutive League of Legends Worlds Finals. Unfortunately, he was unable to win on both occasions.

That said, he was able to win its first international tournament with RNG in 2018, at the Mid-Season Invitational. Aside from these results, Uzi has several Worlds appearances, having participated for four consecutive years between 2016 and 2019.

On domestic soil, Uzi boasts two LPL titles, having won both of them in 2018. But what’s more important is the fact that the Chinese player has always been at the top of the league, having multiple second-place finishes in his 10-year career.

How old is Uzi?

Uzi is currently 25 years old, having started his competitive journey back in 2012 at the age of 15!

Where can you find Uzi?

Uzi doesn’t an official Facebook or Twitter account, but he’s present on Chinese platforms like Weibo. If you want to watch his gameplay, you can check out his stream on BiliBili.

Uzi and his outstanding career as a League of Legends pro

2013

Uzi entered the professional League of Legends professional scene in 2013, as the starting ADC of Royal Club. After an initial fifth-place finish in Spring, the team went on two win the Regional Finals and qualify for Worlds. Despite lasting until the very end, the team dropped to the legendary team SKT T1, led by Faker himself.

Image Credits | Riot Games

2014

Despite the team’s success, mid laner Tabe’s departure forced Uzi to switch to the mid lane position at the start of 2014. Being in an unfamiliar role, the team was only able to finish sixth in Spring.

Renamed to Star Horn Royal Club for summer, and having found mid laner corn, Uzi returned to the AD position. The team would finish in the top three and qualify for Worlds as the second seed from the regional finals. Once again, SHR found themselves in the finals, but were demolished by Samsung White, continuing the era of Korean dominance.

2015

Season 5 was the year when Uzi moved to OMG. Considered one of the biggest transfers, the team was unable to deliver good results and ultimately failed to qualify for Season 5 Worlds.

Image Credits | LPL

2016

Picked up by Qiao Gu Reapers, Uzi found himself being the sub for Peco. While he did play in the LPL Spring Playoffs, QG was only able to finish fourth. Luckily for him, Royal Never Give Up went on to buy his contract, and bring him before the start of summer.

In a team with other great veterans like Chinese jungler Mlxg, and former world champion support Mata, RNG went on to be a top-tier team, only losing to EDG in the Summer finals. At Worlds, they made it to the top eight but were once again eliminated by the then-world champions SKT T1.

2017

It was yet another stronger year for RNG and Uzi. The team was able to end first in both regular splits, but they always came second during Playoffs.

At Worlds, RNG dominated their group, going 5-1 and beating Samsung Galaxy in the Bo1 format. Once they got to Knockouts, they destroyed Fnatic 3-1 but eventually fell to SKT T1 again, in one of the most exciting series of the entire tournament.

2018

2018 was the peak moment of Uzi’s career. RNG dominated throughout the first part of the year, winning the Spring Championship and then conquering their first-ever MSI trophy.

Image Credits | Riot Games

Their streak continued to the Summer Split when they beat Invictus Gaming in the finals. Going into Worlds as the biggest favorites of the tournament, the team dropped unexpectedly in a shocking series against G2 Esports. Considered one of the greatest highlights in the modern era of League, Uzi began its downward trajectory after that.

2019

Despite maintaining the same players, RNG wasn’t able to replicate the 2018 run. While they were still able to go to Worlds as the second seed, the team ended up in the group of death with SKT T1 (again) and Fnatic. After an incredible groups stage, the team failed to qualify after going 3-3. This was Uzi’s last international appearance.

2020

The 2020 season was quite a particular one, as the covid pandemic caused major problems to the competition. Uzi became inactive during the quarantine, and announced his retirement from professional gaming in June, due to the growing health problems he was facing.

Later into the year, he explained he had issues with his shoulder and right arm, forcing him to sit out for parts of his career. On top of that, a fatty diet and insurmountable stress caused type-2 diabetes. After that, Uzi focused on recovering while streaming solo queue. That said, Uzi didn’t have plans on returning to competitive.

2022

That was until the end of 2021 when he announced he would return to the game and join BLG (Bilibili Gaming) as an AD player. Paired with other veterans like Breathe and Crisp, the lineup was set to be a solid one. On top of that, ADC substitute Doggo joined the team in case Uzi had a health relapse again.

Image Credits | LPL

While he did play a few series, he decided to take a break from pro play again. BLG failed to make a strong finish at the end of the Spring Split, and Uzi didn’t play during playoffs.

He continued to be on the sidelines in the LPL Summer Split, focusing on streaming, and effectively retiring again after facing chronic issues with his wrist.

Uzi has always been a great mechanical player that brought RNG to great heights over his 8-year career. Unfortunately, the intense stress caused by constantly playing competitive impacted Uzi’s health, to the point where it became too much for him. That said, he still continues to be one of the greatest legends of the first League era, and will always be remembered for the memorable series and carry performances at both domestic and international tournaments.