Evil Geniuses had a solid weekend once again going 2-1 in Week 6 of the LCS. They secured Playoffs at sixth place. What does this mean for the future? Are they poised to make the run? And what did was learned this weekend?
EG Needed to Make 5th:
EG right now is positioned to play the loser of TSM vs TL. Meanwhile, Dignitas is going to play the loser of 100T and C9. See the problem here?
EG playing most likely 100T if they were ranked 5th is a much easier bracket. Many fans are not convinced of 100T yet. And frankly, TSM and TL are just better and teams no one would want to play if at all avoidable. This is the issue with EG. EG managed to beat every team ranked above them, but one. That one? Dignitas. They went 0-2 vs Dignitas and Immortals. If they win these games, EG is positioned so much better for their Playoff run. This isn’t to say that EG can’t beat TSM or TL. They clearly can, they did before, but would they want to play them? No. Now if EG loses one BO5 they are out.
Draft Diversity:
EG really stepped up their draft this weekend with two really interesting picks. In the TSM game, Impact went back to his old reliable Aatrox to great success. Aatrox has maintained high play levels around the world, but has fallen off in the LCS after the Goredrinker changes. Impact did not care at all and popped off on the pick. For weeks fans have been preaching for Impact to play something aggressive and this was it. One thing interesting is that Impacts Aatrox usually goes along with his Mordekaiser. Morde has been played in the LCK a bit recently and it’s very possible they trust him on a counterpick with it during playoffs.
While it didn’t work out, the lane swap game versus Team Liquid with Jiizuke on Neeko Top and Impact on Renekton Mid was one of the more innovative drafts all season in the LCS. EG has played Neeko before, but she was in the Bot Lane alongside Varus versus Flyquest. Neeko has been played a bit in NA Amateur this year as a counterpick to some Top Laners. There are two interesting builds, on hit or full AP. This game, Jiizuke went for full AP. He was actually doing quite well being up a bit in CS and had a Tower Plate before EG threw at Rift.
It is good to EG stepping up their draft game and trying new things. If they want to beat TSM or TL, they need to play great and surprise them. Here are a few picks that we could possibly see in the future:
- Mordekaiser Top
- Neeko Kalista Bot
- Lethality Sivir
Svenskeren is Underperforming:
It’s fair to say Brother Sven has not had his best Split. This isn’t to trash on him or kick him while he is down. Clearly, Sven is still a great Jungler in the LCS. There are just a few worrying stats after the Split that make fans concerned that this is a point of attack for Playoff Matches.
Svenskeren has the most deaths of any Jungler in the LCS, by far with 68 deaths total. The second-highest is 17 less with Dardoch at 51. Sven has inted a fair amount this year with some very questionable positioning. One that comes to mind is the Mundo games where he was constantly overextended in the enemy Jungle. While he wasn’t punished too hard, cause, ya know, “Mundo goes where he pleases”, he did die a few times. Sven clearly plays aggressively and looks for plays, so it makes sense, but when he has double the deaths of some Jungle players, there is an issue.
Svenskeren also has some bad CS stats. At 10 minutes he is -12 Gold, -164 EXP, and down -0.6 CS with one of the lowest CSPM at 6.0 in the LCS. Obviously, CS is not the end-all-be-all statistic. What it does show though is the advantage he can get over enemy JG on clear alone. Someone like Blabber does this incredibly well clearing camps at Super-Human speed. Sven is more like an Olympic Runner than the Flash. He is still fast, but can’t compete with other top team players like Santorin or Blabber.
The Good to Sven:
Now there are obviously some things Sven has done very well which is why the team is even in this position in the first place.. Sveneskeren is second in the LCS for DPM at 314. He is in the upper half of the league for KP and Kills while having the second-lowest Counter Pick Rate at 28%. This means that he is willing to give priority to the rest of his team. Sven is great when he is on. Fans just need to see more of that especially versus Spica or Santorin in the Playoffs.
TLDR:
It’s going to be a tough two weeks for Evil Geniuses. There is a very good chance they lose to TSM or TL. There is also a chance that this team can pull a huge upset. EG can beat anyone, but EG can lose to anyone. Time will tell.
Stay Connected
You can ‘Like’ The Game Haus on Facebook and ‘Follow’ us on Twitter for more sports and esports articles from other great TGH writers along with Michael!
“From Our Haus to Yours”