A week of improvement for the Evil Geniuses! During Week 3 of the LCS Spring Split the masterminds were able to defeat FlyQuest but did end up dropping a game to Counter Logic Gaming, giving them their first win. EG ended the week at 2-4, tied for seventh place. They still have improvements to make, especially because they face Immortals next week as well as the current power house of the LCS, Cloud 9.
Counter Logic Gaming (1-5)
Evil Geniuses had a rough game against Counter Logic Gaming, losing their lead and giving CLG their first win of the season. Svenskeren helped develop with this lead by securing an early kill mid for first blood, getting the first two dragons of the map and playing well during the early game on Elise in the jungle.
Regardless of their early game plays, EG was unable to match the power of Stixxay’s Aphelios during the match. Stixxay was able to acquire seven kills by 30 minutes on top of being deathless throughout the match. After CLG secured four Cloud Drakes as well as the Cloud Soul, their team fighting was quite unstoppable against the team composition of EG. CLG was also able to draft Soraka in the Top Lane which was able to fully heal the entire team multiple times throughout the match.
Player of the Match: Stixxay
Despite having rough games in both academy and LCS, Stixxay has one of his highest damage games throughout the match vs EG. He finished the match 8/0/5 as Aphelios dealing a total of 38,969 damage through the game, which was a personal best during the split so far. Not only was his performance the reason that CLG was able to turn the lead around against EG, but his team was able to play around his damage output which secured them the win.
FlyQuest (3-3)
Almost all of the casters for the LCS predicted against EG for this match, but what they didn’t count on was the play making potential of Jiizuke’s Malzahar pick in the Mid Lane. The duo power of the Malzahar with Svenskeren’s Jarvan IV pick was able to start the snowball in the bot lane, provide lane pressure so EG could get two early dragons, as well as an early mid lane turret.
With about a 6000 gold lead at 20 minutes, EG was able to secure the baron, push the Mid and Top Lane minion waves to take down both tier 2 turrets and continue pushing their lead. They were able to end the game in only 31 minutes and 17 seconds off of securing the Infernal Dragon soul and their second baron of the game.
Player of the Match: Jiizuke
With the first Malzahar pick of the split, Jiizuke was able to pressure the mid lane and bottom lane with the power of his ultimate ability ‘Nether Grasp’ which stuns an enemy champion in one position while also doing damage to it. Jiizuke was constantly pushing his lane and then roaming to the bottom lane with Svenskeren to secure kills in the Bot Lane as well as dragons. This gave EG an early lead and provided them the momentum it took to secure their second win of the season!
Upcoming Matches
A majority of people are uncertain of whether EG could be at the top of the LCS because of the amount of roster power that they have, or if they would be left in the dust by the other squads. Regardless, EG is going to be tested in upcoming Week 4 against Immortals who are tied for second, and the current undefeated top team in the LCS, Cloud 9.
Immortals (4-2)
Immortals have always been a team that has performed well in the LCS, but this year their strength has definitely been a surprise. EG has the potential to beat them with the power of their former MVP jungler and their former world champion ADC.
Player to watch: Svenskeren
Svenskeren being a former MVP is always going to be someone to watch, however this game will especially be interesting because he will be going against a jungler ‘Xmithie’ who is very consistent and knows how to pressure around the map. Be on the look out for Svenskeren as he challenges Xmithie in the jungle and gets back into MVP form.
Prediction – #tooclosetocall – The games that EG play really are decided by their draft as well as their mid game mistakes. EG can easily win this if they play it similarly to the way they played against Fly Quest, a clear win condition. Drafting Malzahar in the mid lane provided huge momentum around the map and helped they develop early leads. However, if they make as many mistakes as they have in the mid – late game in other matches, the match will be going to Immortals. A good percentage of the time, Immortals will win this match-up, at least until EG grows more powerful.
Cloud 9 (6-0)
Cloud 9 has been on a whole different level than the rest of the teams so far this split, most likely a result that they have the most experience playing with each other. They are quick moving, highly reactive around the map and have insane individual mechanics when it comes to game play. EG definitely has a tough match ahead of them.
Player to watch: Blaber & Zven
Usually there’s one specific player who really stands out on a team, but both of these players have been a decisive reason behind Cloud 9’s wins. Zven only has one death so far this split, which has been highly discussed by the LCS scene. The hopes are that Zven can reach a K/D/A of 100, something extremely difficult in pro play. Currently he stands at a 72 K/D/A with his single death. Blaber on the other hand has one of the highest win rates in LCS history at about 80 percent. These two players are very skilled and have stolen the spotlight so far this split.
Prediction – #C9Stomp – As sad as it is, there is little to no hope for EG this match unless Cloud 9 has a lot of misplays during the game. It just seems like the undefeated team is too strong for the evil masterminds this time around. Cloud 9 ends their games quick with little to no mistakes, which is why EG has a very low chance at beating them until they can preform better around the map and fix their play making. As of now, EG just isn’t evil enough to take on the force of Cloud 9.
Featured Image Courtesy of LoL Esports Flickr
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