The match day on February 17 (Vietnam time) is likely to be a day that LPL fans will never forget. Not because of any drama or classic match, but simply because in the seemingly ordinary matchup between Invictus Gaming and Bilibili Gaming, fans of League of Legends in China and around the world witnessed the return of the legend Uzi – the “Super Marksman” regarded as a “god” in the LPL and placed alongside Faker.
Uzi’s return match did not go as hoped as he tried his best, but BLG still lost 1-2 to IG. However, the audience still saw the shadow of a once-legend and especially, after entering the battlefield replacing Doggo, Uzi helped BLG equalize in game 2 and only lost because he couldn’t “carry the team” in the decisive game 3.
Uzi’s return immediately caused a storm across all Chinese media. The keyword Uzi entered the top 3 searches on Weibo, showcasing the immense attraction of the player considered a monument of the LPL. Moreover, an even more special point, the live stream of the match between IG and BLG reached an astonishing view count of over 10 million. This can be considered an unbelievable number as the 2021 Worlds final between EDward Gaming and DWG KIA only garnered about 4 million views while the semifinal between T1 – DK, featuring the “Demon King” Faker, also only surpassed 3.5 million views.
From these numbers, it can be seen that Uzi is still the most anticipated legend of the LPL even though he has been retired for a long time and has just made a comeback with no notable achievements yet. However, this is not too surprising as it is essential to know that from the moment Uzi announced his return to professional League of Legends, fans and experts, as well as other players, have been buzzing about it and raising questions about the performance of the former Royal Never Give Up star.
With a good performance in the match against IG, many fans are also hopeful that Uzi will continue to be utilized in the future. Especially as LPL Spring 2022 has entered its climax and young, inexperienced players like Doggo can easily feel “overwhelmed,” the team will need experienced names like Uzi to carry the whole squad.