Preface: The S16 season has officially started, and the vast majority of players have been paying attention to the recent competitions. The LPL and LCK are now in a brief break period. Currently, the LPL region continues to see a fierce rivalry between two elite teams, with AL and BLG expected to maintain their positions as the top powerhouses. Recently, Uzi’s return has significantly boosted the LPL’s popularity. In his latest livestream, he fully exposed the current status of his close friend, support player Shi Senming. It seems unlikely that Shi will ever compete professionally again, effectively ending his career. Being able to stream is already the greatest kindness RNG has shown him.

Uzi Reveals the Current Status of Shi Senming

Most players are probably familiar with the former RNG team, a top all-Chinese roster in the LPL. During the S7 and S8 seasons, RNG earned numerous honors and gained many loyal fans due to their all-Chinese lineup. However, over time, RNG encountered significant financial difficulties. Running an esports team individually is challenging, and the deficits worsened, causing the team’s debts to grow heavier. Eventually, many professional players left by sacrificing large portions of their salaries, including mid-laner Xiaohu and jungler Wei. These two essentially gave up much to preserve their careers and continue competing professionally.

The most unfortunate case is probably support player Xiaoming. Although he was nearing the end of his career and still popular enough to shine in other teams, contract issues prevented any transfers. Ultimately, he had no choice but to retire from RNG and leave the professional scene. Recently, Uzi’s return to streaming sparked widespread discussion online, and his synergy with Xiaoming generated considerable excitement. Many believed their joint streams would attract substantial attention and earnings. However, Uzi recently revealed Xiaoming’s situation isn’t as good as people imagined.

Uzi stated that Xiaoming will never play competitively again in his lifetime. Shi Senming is completely trapped by RNG’s contract restrictions. Being able to stream is already the greatest mercy RNG has granted him. So far, there’s no clear timeline for his return; it depends on further discussions between Xiaoming and RNG. Many netizens joked that Shi Senming might be the biggest "boomerang" in League of Legends history. Back in 2023, he once said on stream, "Isn’t streaming supposed to be free to say whatever? Why all these contract blocks? The contract was signed and read by yourself, yet people keep blaming contracts."

Uzi’s recent streams have been quite popular. Since his comeback, his solo queue games with fans have sparked much discussion. However, fans most eagerly want to see his collaboration with Xiaoming, as the duo remains the most watched golden pair in the LPL. It’s unclear exactly how restrictive Xiaoming’s contract is, but it’s probably severe. For example, when Uzi signed his contract, he immediately regretted it and had to pay 6 million RMB in compensation. Wei reportedly gave up 12 million RMB to leave. Even Uzi admitted that every pro player at RNG keeps some savings. It’s baffling how the organization can impose such harsh restrictions, allowing RNG to behave so arrogantly.

Farewell Thoughts

Xiaoming’s "boomerang" effect is even more precise than Bin’s. He was somewhat naive and reckless in his youth, which explains why he said such things on stream. Now, being constantly restricted, he likely understands the hardships of his old teammates. Frankly, the only players who managed to leave RNG cleanly were Betty and Karsa. Both were registered in the former LMS region, which offered cross-region protections, enabling them to retain most of their earnings.

What do you, dear viewers, think about this situation?