LCS 2021: Why Fans Should Be Excited for Evil Geniuses

Let’s look at why Evil Geniuses fans should be excited for the coming LCS season.

Evil Geniuses have never been a team to shy away from making explosive and controversial moves, a trend that did not stop in this offseason. While much of the team’s core from the 2020 season is returning, the team made a couple of big-name additions in the top lane and support roles. In forming another LCS super team this year, 100 Thieves are hoping to get over the hump and challenge for an LCS title.

Last Year

10-8 in the Spring Split, 8-10 in the Summer Split

It was an up-and-down season in 2020, as Evil Geniuses ended the Spring Split tied for second place in the regular season. In the playoffs, they made it all the way to the semifinals before being downed in the final game of the lower bracket

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The Summer Split, however, was marred by inconsistency, necessitating a drastic roster shift midway through the split. Unfortunately, it didn’t prove to be enough to get Evil Geniuses into a Worlds spot. They lost to FlyQuest 3-2 in the first round, the swept 100 Thieves in the loser’s bracket before being bounced by Cloud9, 3-0, in the next round.

The Offseason

Changes galore in the offseason for Evil Geniuses. They started off the offseason by signing a pair of stars – Jung “Impact” Eon-yeong in the top lane and Lee “Ignar” Dong-geun as their support.

While Dennis “Svenskeren” Johnsen returns as the jungler, it was unsure if the mid laner would, again, be Daniele “Jiizuke” di Mauro until the very end of the offseason. To round out the roster, EG acquired Academy ADC Matthew “Deftly” Chen.

The Coach

Another big acquisition for Evil Geniuses, as they brought over MAD Lions (and previously Splyce) head coach Peter Dun to help improve the team’s League of Legends infrastructure. Dun is a player who knows how to do more with less, so he’s a perfect fit for an EG team that, on paper, looks to be middle of the pack.

Players to Be Excited About

Last year in the spring, EG rode with Jiizuke and I fully expect that trend to continue this year. Luckily, this year with a more active support in Ignar, there is a lot more potential to unlock Jiizuke and give him more opportunities to roam and carry.

Season Prediction

Evil Geniuses are a team with a lot of questions on their roster. How will Impact do without solid solo lane and jungle play? Can Svenskeren return to his MVP form of two years ago? Can Ignar mentor a young ADC and is Deftly able to play independently when Ignar roams? Can Jiizuke ever find that elusive consistency?

The biggest problem for EG is that, even if all of the answers to this question are yes, I don’t know if they’re able to stand up to the big two of C9 and TL. I think they could end up a top three or four team, but if the answers to these questions aren’t all affirmative, they start tilting towards a likely collapse.

What are the Fans Excited About?

From the Evil Geniuses subreddit:

"Can’t wait to see Deftly usurp the crown for ADC after all the hate he’s received. No one can beat SneakyLift, but everyone else is fair game, especially Tactical.– TheCantrip"

Deftly for sure has that ceiling to become a top-tier ADC. He has to show it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he supplants everyone but Tactical and Zven.

Next. Why Fans Should Be Excited About CLG. dark

"I’m an impact fan. I think he’s going to be a solid top layer and help enable other EG members– ShamuPvP"

That’s been Impact’s MO since he arrived in North America. He’s one of the best enabling/weak-side top laners in the region for a while now. My only worry is that, given Jiizuke and Svenskeren’s inconsistencies, he may not be able to fulfill that role with as much ease as he might be accustomed to.

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