Five games that defined Uzi’s Hall of Legends career

Jian ‘Uzi‘ Zihao isn’t just a great ADC — he designed the blueprint of what that role means today in League of Legends, redefining what it means to be a carry.

With over a decade of world-class performances, Riot Games recently dubbed him “the most influential ADC in history” and inducted him into the Hall of Legends. 

From his early days as a teenage prodigy to leading the LPL’s golden generation, Uzi was the face of Chinese League of Legends, both regionally and on the international stage. Immortalised in the 2018 Worlds anthem ‘RISE’, Uzi is the penultimate challenger before Faker on the climb to esports glory.

It’s difficult to pick just five games that have defined Uzi’s career, especially because his legacy meant so much to fans and players alike. Still, Esports Insider has tried to retrace the biggest moments in the story of the most influential ADC in the game’s history.

In the series against Edward Gaming during the 2014 World Championship, Uzi on Tristana pulled off an all-time classic moment.

With his team on the back foot, he jumped straight into four EDG players to win a decisive team fight in the last game of the series. What might seem like recklessness was actually perfectly calculated confidence. That play helped send Star Horn Royal Club to its second Worlds final — and cemented Uzi’s image as a fearless superstar.

After countless near-misses and silver medals, Uzi finally claimed his first domestic title with RNG in 2018. Playing Xayah, he delivered clutch teamfights and brilliant positioning to lead RNG to a 3–1 win over long-time rivals EDward Gaming.

It wasn’t just a win — it was a moment of emotional triumph for Uzi and his fans. From that moment on, Uzi wasn’t just the best ADC without a title anymore, he was finally a champion.

During MSI Group Stage up against Korean titans Kingzone DragonX, Uzi’s Kai’Sa was pure art in motion. In a chaotic skirmish—which would have signalled the end of many other players— he used her ulti to dodge layered crowd control and damage, preventing what looked like certain defeat. It was reflex, game sense, and icy nerves all in one moment that separates the players from the legends—and it was not for just one game.

Uzi was nearly untouchable at MSI 2018, consistently outclassing world-class bot duos and not just with Kai’Sa. His mechanical prowess turned late-game threats into certain victories for RNG, helping RNG win an MSI trophy, beating Kingzone DragonX 3-1 in the final.

But Uzi didn’t just win MSI — he was crowned tournament MVP, the undisputed centrepiece of RNG’s success, and the best player in the world at that moment.

Uzi had already developed a growing, loyal fanbase, but became a national hero at the 2018 Asian Games, where League of Legends debuted as a demonstrational sport.

He helped lead China to a historic 3–1 victory over South Korea, securing a gold medal for his team and country.

Even after winning MSI just a few months back, some were still sceptical of the LPL teams, especially considering Korean ones had been lifting the Worlds trophy for five years consecutively. But at the Asian Games, once again, saw a team from China win and, once again, Uzi was at the heart of it, outplaying Korea’s best, including Faker.

Overall, 2018 was almost a perfect year for Uzi, and the LPL Summer Final was the player’s final crowning moment.

In a five-game series against Invictus Gaming, Uzi led RNG to a clutch 3–2 victory filled with pauses and an open Nexus in game five. In hindsight, the victory was even more remarkable since Invictus Gaming would then become that year’s World Champions.

His consistency, cool-headed decision-making, and late-game domination locked in RNG’s second split win that year. RNG’s domestic dominance in 2018 was unquestioned—and Uzi was the region’s king.

Despite his legacy both in and out of the game, some might still believe Uzi needed more than one international title to claim his spot in the Hall of Legends, but limiting what he’s done for the game to just titles wouldn’t be fair.

He was part of a generation of LPL stars who shattered the old world order, proving that China could not only compete but dominate on the international stage. At a time when mid laners were seen as the playmakers and shotcallers, Uzi altered what it meant to be an ADC — turning the bot lane into the true engine of a team’s success and inspiring a region that now strikes fear into every team it faces.