In the recent offseason transfer period at the end of the 2021 season, one of the most notable deals was Uzi’s return to the professional arena with Bilibili Gaming after a long break due to injuries and contract issues with Royal Never Give Up. Notably, according to the schedule, Uzi’s first match back in the LPL was against Weibo Gaming – the “media battle version of LPL” or also known as the “battle of the gods.”
The highlight match WBG – BLG ended with a victory for BLG. However, playing the AD Carry position for BLG was not Uzi but Doggo – the rookie of BLG and LPL, a young player considered to be very promising with a brilliant performance in Beyond Gaming during the recent 2021 World Championship.
With Uzi not on the field, the BLG coaching staff faced heavy criticism as fans felt the team had deceived them. Player Doggo later cried tears of frustration despite winning due to the pressure he had to bear as the chosen name instead of the legendary “Super AD Carry” of Chinese League of Legends.
However, in an interview, BLG Support Crisp also admitted that Uzi is not in good form and Crisp himself has yet to find the perfect synergy with Uzi. Notably, Crisp, according to rumors during the offseason transfer at the end of the 2021 season, is a very close friend of Uzi and partly because of the former RNG star’s persuasion, Crisp switched from WBG.
But when people watch Uzi’s recent ranked matches, the LPL community discovered that what Crisp said made complete sense. Uzi is not in his best state. The current win rate in Korean ranked for the “Super AD Carry” is only 54% even though he is playing in the Master rank. Even when playing in the bot lane and using his signature strong champion Lucian, Uzi still “fed hard” with a KDA of 1/7/6, to the extent that he was harshly criticized by his teammates.
Assuming this was an official match, if Uzi performs poorly, not only would he face heavy criticism but it could also affect his teammates. Simply put, BLG holds the “legend of legends” in the AD Carry position, a player highly respected throughout the League of Legends community. Therefore, the pressure is immense.
With no debut match yet, Uzi’s performance in ranked is very inconsistent, combined with his age and the injuries and health issues he could face at any time, Uzi is likely to struggle competing with a younger, more eager name like Doggo. Not to mention, BLG themselves would not want the pressure from Uzi to impact the entire team. Using the “double-edged sword” named Uzi at this point is more harmful than beneficial. For this reason, Uzi’s debut day as a “Super AD Carry” when returning to the professional arena still seems very distant.