EG's Victory is a Victory for the LCS

A little over three weeks ago, Evil Geniuses drafted Renekton and Nidalee in the final game of their first play-off match and ended the series with a whimper. If you had said they would go on to win Spring Split with back-to-back-to-back 3-0 victories back then, you would have been laughed off the internet.

Yet here we are. Not only did they avenge that awful draft by 3-0-ing Team Liquid, they followed it up with a 3-0 grand-final win over 100 Thieves the very next day – the quickest LCS grand-final of all time, by the way. Oh, and they produced one of the biggest pop-off moments in LCS history on the way. Pretty good weekend for EG, then.

Naturally, I had predicted EG to lose to TL in Saturday’s game. In my defence, so did everyone else – that’s what makes this play-off run so impressive. Not only did they win in thrilling, dominant fashion, they did it against the odds. Short of a last minute substitute coming in to steal the series, EG’s run had everything.

Everyone wants to talk about the young guns now; the zoomers defeating the boomers and the glorious new dawn it heralds for the LCS. Rightly so, but I want to take a minute to pay respect to one of the boomerest of boomers, Impact. His Mordekaiser game stands out, of course, but he barely put a foot wrong across not just the final, but EG’s entire play-off run. Even more impressively, he did it on a variety of champions. He played tanks, he played bruisers, he played whatever the hell Ornn is. This is a guy who was winning world championships before most of his teammates were even old enough to use a computer unsupervised.

100 Thieves vs Evil Geniuses

The grand-final itself was… odd. Looking back at the series without the excitement of the moment, all three games follow roughly the same pattern. 100 Thieves get a small lead early, usually via a bottom lane 2v2 kill, make no proactive plays in the mid game, then get out-macro’d and out team-fought.

That last part is the most interesting part to me. For years, particularly when TSM was on top, the LCS was ridiculed for its inactive play style and the classic “NARAM.” EG were like a breath of fresh air in this regard, and 100T were not ready for it. Many analysts have discussed the “hands diff” that EG had – their superior mechanics, better reactions and just greater individual play all round. Equally important, though, was the team’s ability to find advantageous fights in the first place. 100T seemed to get caught off-guard time and time again, possibly expecting EG to handshake on an objective trade where EG would instead just show up to dragon or herald and trounce their opponents in a team fight.

Through that lens, the fact that this was the fastest grand-final in LCS history is hardly surprising. It wasn’t just zoomers vs boomers, it was proactivity vs inactivity. It was playing to win vs playing not to lose. More than anything, it was playing with confidence. It’s a bit of a cliché to compare aggressive teams in the West to LPL teams, but EG’s grand-final performance warrants it. It wasn’t that they were even particularly aggressive, more that they would consistently back themselves to outplay. It didn’t always pay off – it infamously backfired numerous times in the bottom lane – but they always got back on the horse and made it work next time.

Victory for the LCS

Earlier, I mentioned that EG was a breath of fresh air. In this year that many commentators have labelled the most exciting LCS season, maybe ever, it’s appropriate that a title-less team full of youngsters takes home its first trophy. It’s important for the league that there were home-grown players on the team, too, given the relative stagnancy of that area in recent years. Yes, EG has a veteran Korean and an almost-mandatory European, but Danny and Jojopyun are exciting young American talents that should give NA fans some hope for the future.

Above all, though, it was the manner of EG’s victory that I found most refreshing. Obviously there was the pentakill in the previous round, but as exhilarating as that was, it was one part of a bigger picture. EG’s proactive, fight for everything brand of self-belief – the arrogance of youth, you might say – was a joy to watch. I sincerely hope they can maintain it, moving into the summer split, because the LCS hasn’t looked this fun in a long time.

Before that, in just a couple of weeks, EG will represent North America at MSI. This is where things get really interesting for EG fans. Their international experience isn’t so much lacking as it is concentrated. Impact, a former world champion, has been around the block a few times. Vulcan and Inspired have both been to Worlds, but that’s about it. Compared to the top teams at the event – and even some in the middle of the pack – that’s not a lot.

Luckily for them, they were put into the group of three, meaning their odds of getting through the first stage are extremely high. Since one of the other teams in their group is from the famously poor OPL, EG’s early progress is all but guaranteed.

The games against G2 will still be fun to watch, though. Honestly, even if EG crashes out of the second stage, the fact that they got drawn against Europe’s representative means their tournament will be entertaining no matter what. Win or lose, the memes will be glorious.

From there, honestly, who knows what could happen? Four of the remaining six teams go to the play-offs and there are plenty of beatable teams in the event. EG’s confidence is abundant, and will be overflowing after their LCS win. Against anyone but T1 and RNG, they have a genuine chance, and yes, I include G2 in that “anyone.” While a CLG-like miracle run to the finals is extremely unlikely, it’s not impossible and I’d argue that a play-off appearance is expected.

The future of the LCS was already starting to look bright, but with MSI right around the corner, the future might be closer than we think.