He's not a central figure in the narrative, he's a background character. Things he created (MIRI, CFAR, LessWrong) are important to the narrative, the founder isn't. If I had to condense the article, I'd probably cut him out too. Summarization is inherently lossy.
> Eliezer Yudkowsky is a central figure in the article, mentioned multiple times as the intellectual originator of the community from which the "Zizians" splintered. His ideas and organizations are foundational to the entire narrative.