The youth movement is on in earnest for Evil Geniuses’ League of Legends team, who swept aside Immortals today to move to a 3-0 record in the 2022 LCS Lock In Tournament so far.
Both teams are fielding rosters that had a lot of turnover from 2021, but with how Evil Geniuses moved around the map, it would be easy to miss that detail.
All eyes have been on 17-year-old rookie Joseph “jojopyun” Joon Pyun, and so far, he has lived up to the billing. While the champions he has played on the biggest stage haven’t allowed him to showcase his immense mechanical talent to the highest degree, his feel for the game is visible, if maybe overzealous at times.
Eighteen-year-old AD carry Danny also looked sharp on Jinx, spacing with aplomb in fights that, while taken from ahead, were still on a knife’s edge given numbers disadvantages.
Despite falling behind early ever so slightly, 19-year-old former LEC MVP Inspired kept the pedal to the metal on his Lee Sin and along with 22-year-old Vulcan on Bard, helped the young Evil Geniuses pull Immortals everywhere on the map. They amassed a 6,000 gold lead by the 15-minute mark.
Immortals, meanwhile, dropped to 0-3 in the tournament. It’s a long year, but the coordination EG showcased looked nonexistent for Immortals, despite similar levels of roster turnover. One of the few exceptions was one good pick by support Destiny in Immortals’ top side jungle before a teamfight on which they couldn’t capitalize.
Immortals have made it clear they want to build around young top laner Revenge, with veterans like PowerOfEvil and WildTurtle in the mid lane and AD carry positions, respectively. But the shades of last year’s similarly constructed Counter Logic Gaming squad are tough to ignore. It’s not time to hit the panic button just yet, but it is something to keep an eye on.
Evil Geniuses have already clinched a spot in the knockout stage of the Lock In tournament, so their remaining match against Dignitas will have little relevance for their position. Immortals, on the other hand, face a do-or-die game against Team Liquid next Friday at 6:30 p.m. CT as they fight for their tournament lives.
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