Among the legends of the Chinese Esports scene, especially in League of Legends, names like Uzi and Mlxg are unmissable. However, despite being former teammates under the Royal Never Give Up banner and both being hailed as icons of the LPL, Uzi and Mlxg’s lives are completely different.
As Mlxg himself shared, he feels extremely envious of teammates like Uzi or Letme. Although they both retired, while Uzi owns a luxurious apartment in Shanghai, living next to top-tier names in the Chinese entertainment industry, the former “Jungle God” doesn’t even have enough money to open a barbecue restaurant as he wished after retiring.
Recently, Mlxg continued to post an announcement on his personal Weibo page, declaring that he would file a lawsuit against his management company, Tian Dong Cultural Media Co., Ltd. – a company located in Shangrao, Jiangxi, China. Mlxg shared on his personal page: “My agency has restrained me for 2 years. The discussions, promises, and unreliable commitments have drained my trust and patience. My commitment and the company management’s have lost all reliable foundations, and the unfruitful negotiations have impacted my life. Therefore, I have decided to file a lawsuit to protect my legal rights. My lawsuit has been submitted to the Shangrao City Court and is currently awaiting processing. I will inform you when there are further updates.”
Notably, this company is a subsidiary of Shanghai Jingxin Chengfeng Media Co., Ltd. – the parent company of Royal Never Give Up. In other words, Tian Dong Cultural Media Co., Ltd. and RNG – Mlxg’s former team were “one family,” and this lawsuit could be viewed as a direct lawsuit against RNG since all player-related contracts must be communicated to the managing team. Moreover, Mlxg has also expressed his reluctance to stream, but due to contract complications, he had to comply, even though, with his calm demeanor and quieter personality compared to his former teammate Uzi, Mlxg understands that streaming is ultimately futile for him.
Speaking of binding contracts like Mlxg’s situation, Uzi is also a “victim.” These constraints are the main reason why, despite still having good form and recovering from injuries, Uzi has yet to make a comeback. He cannot join another team due to the binding clauses with RNG, and any attempt to release Uzi from his contract would require a huge fee, which is far too much for the legendary LPL Marksman, especially when Uzi can only contribute for a maximum of 2 – 3 more years.
From Uzi to Mlxg, it can be said that RNG is facing a fierce backlash against its harsh contracts. However, fans of this team still hope that the scandals involving the management and the key players won’t affect the mental state of the star lineup preparing to compete at the 2021 World Championship this year.