Evil Geniuses continued their dominance in the LCS Lock In tournament, defeating Golden Guardians handily 2-0 in their quarterfinal series today.
The EG League of Legends squad overwhelmed all of GG during laning phase and in teamfights thanks to clear coordination and notable contributions from Impact and IgNar. Despite a newly adopted aggressive playstyle debuting out of the GG rookies, their misplays piled up and were too much for them to advance to the semifinals.
The Guardians had to give up their fifth ban for game one following a late roster lock-in as a result of health issues with Ablazeolive. This didn’t deter them from bringing out Udyr in the jungle, a pick that has yet to be seen in the LCS this season but has seen play around the world. EG answered by demonstrating a mastery of positioning around the map that left GG unable to respond.
The immediate Renekton ban in game two aimed to skewer Impact’s champion pool, but the champion top laner couldn’t be stopped and used the power of Gragas to bring EG to the clean 2-0 victory. IgNar’s Seraphine also helped EG reach the victory, as GG could not avoid the powerful ultimate.
Despite their defeat in the Lock In tournament, the Golden Guardians roster received praise from the casters, analyst desk, and fans for their efforts in the debuts of the rookies on the LCS stage.
The LCS Lock In semifinals will feature Cloud 9 against 100 Thieves on Jan. 29 at 5pm CT, while Evil Geniuses will face the winner of tonight’s Team Liquid/FlyQuest quarterfinal series on Jan. 30 at 3pm CT. The two winning teams will compete in the finals on Jan. 31 at 3pm CT, and a Lock In win is just the boost these teams are looking for before the Spring Split begins one week later.
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