The first week of June started off with tear-shedding news for League of Legends Esports fans. Royal Never Give Up’s Jian “Uzi” Zi-Hao announced he would be retiring from competitive play. His undeniable legacy to the world of esports has evoked several voices in the industry to honor the player, including T1’s Mid Laner Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok.

Faker has expressed surprise regarding the news, “I was actually reluctant to believe it”, says the fellow League of Legends star, who often shared rivalry for the title of “best League of Legends player” with Uzi. The complete statement, fully translated by Linda “iCrystalization”,  follows: 

“Hello everyone, I’m T1 Faker. When I heard the news of Uzi’s retirement, speaking for myself, he’s been an excellent player who’s competed against me on the same stage for so many years. And at the same time, he’s also an extremely popular Chinese player, so when I heard the news of his retirement, I was actually reluctant to believe it. Uzi has always worked very hard, so it’s a great pity that he’s now retired. 

At the same time, there are many fans in China who like Uzi, the fans will also be sad hearing this news. My heart feels rather heavy when I think about that. 

Although Uzi’s career has ended, I believe that from now on he’ll grow very well in the days to come. I hope Uzi’s fans can always continue to support him. Uzi fighting!”

Uzi has struggled with health-related issues, causing a burden in his career, and a retirement consideration back in 2015. Being absent for the past Spring Split in the LPL, fans had started to draft the conclusion that something was going on with the player, making the retirement announcement less of a surprise.

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