After AL confirmed the contract extension of AD player HOPE, many LPL viewers were shocked to find that the league is truly short on AD talent; among the homegrown AD players, only a handful surpass HOPE. Many fans have started missing Uzi, and related news about “Uzi” frequently tops trending searches daily, such as “Uzi ranked games” and “Uzi signing with IG.” Recently, two major topics about Uzi have again trended: one is “Uzi pausing ranked training on Korean servers,” and the other is “Uzi joining IG for 50 million over two years.”

Several insiders and Uzi fans have revealed that Uzi is taking a break to sign with IG. As the discussion about “Uzi joining IG” heats up, many well-known LOL streamers have voiced their sharp opinions on Uzi’s comeback. Among them, DOINB openly stated that if Uzi wants to return next season, he will definitely join a team capable of competing for the world championship, since Uzi only lacks a world title; other championships hold less appeal for him. Therefore, DOINB believes the chance of Uzi joining IG is very slim.

Ming’s denial causes a stir.

During a live broadcast, DOINB revealed that since THESHY took a break, IG has faced many setbacks in the transfer period. Many star players are reluctant to join IG as the main player because the team’s salary this season is tied to performance. Even if Uzi joined IG, it would be very difficult for IG to win the world championship. Hence, DOINB thinks Uzi joining IG is almost impossible. Many viewers agree with DOINB’s view, considering that if Uzi returns but doesn’t perform well, he will be ridiculed by critics. Of course, Hanyi once said on stream that if the pay is high enough, Uzi might have a chance to come back. What do you think — is a 50 million two-year contract enough to sign Uzi?

Besides DOINB, Uzi’s former teammate Letme also publicly asked Uzi’s dedicated support Ming during a live stream whether Uzi would join IG, since many insiders claim Uzi and Ming would sign together as a package deal. Ming denied this during the stream, stating that the LPL transfer period has nothing to do with him, he doesn’t know what Uzi has been up to lately, and that he himself is no longer competing. (Following Ming’s announcement of resting next season, many Uzi fans believe Uzi will not make a comeback next year.)

Huanfeng believes LPL does not lack AD players.

While many LPL fans lament the shortage of AD players, LPL runner-up AD player Huanfeng stated during a live stream that the current LPL actually does not lack ADs but rather lacks good junglers. Buying LCK AD players now is less cost-effective than acquiring LCK junglers. Huanfeng believes the current meta revolves around jungle performance; as long as the jungler is strong, the AD player can manage to win games. He used AL team as an example: whether AL wins depends entirely on their jungler Tarzan; if Tarzan underperforms, even having Viper on AL won’t guarantee victory.

Finally, Huanfeng defended AD player HOPE, saying HOPE is not as weak as fans imagine and that HOPE always puts in great effort during matches. However, some viewers think Huanfeng, like HOPE, is an AD player who avoids taking risks, which is why he sympathizes with HOPE. (What do you think about Huanfeng’s comments? Does the LPL currently lack good junglers or good AD players? I feel AL lost to T1 mainly due to AD skill differences; the jungle gap wasn’t that obvious.)