Riot reveals 2025's League of Legends hall of famer, and it's well deserved
Who's your favorite esports pro? As someone who grew up during the G2 Esports golden era, I have a soft spot for every player on that iconic roster, even if it never did work out for them. Looking past that, I've always loved to watch Martin 'Rekkless' Larsson both on and off of Fnatic, then Henrik 'Froggen' Hansen during his time in North America, and, of course, who can forget Lee 'Faker' Sang-hyeok. But perhaps even rivaling the Unkillable Demon King himself is, of course, Jian 'Uzi' Zi-hao, who is rightfully heralded as the best bot laner to ever grace the Rift. Ahead of Riot's Hall of Legends announcement for 2025, the rumors have swirled, but it's official: Uzi is joining Faker in the LoL esports Hall of Fame.
Known for his highly mobile ADC playstyle and incredible CSing, Uzi is best associated with Royal Never Give Up, formerly Royal Club. One of China's most prestigious League of Legends teams, Uzi started out with Royal Club in 2012, leaving in 2014 and re-joining the newly named RNG in 2016, with whom he won MSI in 2018. While he's since retired, he's easily one of the MOBA's greatest players, and very much deserves his spot up there with Faker.
But, given the context of last year, the announcement is a double-edged sword. While pretty much every long-time fan was thrilled to see Faker take is place as the first ever Hall of Fame player, the announcement was somewhat spoiled by the reveal that his dedicated Ahri skin cost $430 with all of the official bells and whistles, or $300 for the mid-tier bundle with the skin and some extra cosmetics.
There was, of course, the Risen Ahri skin, which clocked in at ~$46, but for many, that felt like a pity prize given the level of detail in the $430 version. The price point split the community down the middle and led to in-game protests following its release. While the event was meant to be a celebration of Faker's career, in many ways it felt like yet another step towards increased monetization – something that's continued to ramp up ever since.
The season pass features various cosmetics designed in collaboration with Uzi, so expect to see a whole lot of white and gold, alongside references to the Mad Dog's career.
In the meantime, check out our LoL tier list to ensure you're locking in the right champs for the job. Or, alternatively, if you're a sucker for cosmetics like me, we have a rundown of all the League of Legends skins currently on sale.
You can follow us on Google News for daily PC games news, reviews, and guides. We've also got a vibrant community Discord server, where you can chat about this story with members of the team and fellow readers.