Evil Geniuses continue improving heading into MSI knockout stage

May 25, 2022

by Sage Datuin

U.S. Army General George S. Patton once said, “Pressure makes diamonds,” a quote befitting Evil Geniuses, the North American representative at this year’s Mid-Season Invitational who have gotten better deeper into MSI.

Success did not come overnight for the Evil Geniuses, who won their first League Championship Series split title this spring. Their MSI 2022 campaign has been filled with a bevy of growing pains and adaptation necessary to continue their progression through each stage of the tournament.

Yet, it is these challenges that Evil Geniuses head coach Peter Dun feels are what has helped the team discover new ways to win.

“We were always waiting for that moment that we could come back into the game, but at MSI, and especially against G2, they don’t allow you to do that,” Dun said while laughing. “So being more proactive about our own success instead of waiting on enemy mistakes was a big lesson we have been learning at this event.”

After finishing fourth in the LCS 2022 spring regular season with a 9-9 record, Evil Geniuses grew to become North America’s best team, where their domestic progress was capped by their 6-0 run during the LCS finals weekend in Houston. However, looking back, Dun noticed certain highlight moments from that weekend that would not have happened at MSI.

“You can't drop your concentration even for a small amount of time or the enemy team will capitalize on those mistakes because every team here is capable of recognizing mistakes just like we did in the LCS,” he said.

Evil Geniuses’ slow start at MSI

Photo credit: Riot Games

Part of the slow start to MSI was due to Evil Geniuses AD carry Kyle “Danny” Sakamaki. Compared to the high expectations placed on him after a strong LCS finals weekend, the young Evil Geniuses AD carry struggled throughout the MSI group stage. Danny had a stat line of 25/21/45 and a 3.3 KDA, according to Oracle’s Elixir, which was among the bottom of players on teams that qualified for the rumble stage.

When grouped next to his collective 111/27/106 scoreline and 8.0 KDA throughout the LCS 2022 spring playoffs, the massive drop is one that was surprising for the star AD carry. Yet, for Dun, it was the shift from complete adoration to harsh criticism from the community that shocked him the most.

“I’m always surprised by how certain people on social media treat rookies because past records suggest that their first international tournament won’t always be at their highest level, at least not at the start,” Dun said. “A lot of his champions that he won with in NA got nerfed to the ground. I think this patch took a bit of time for Danny to adjust to compared to our LCS finals run, but now I think he is really starting to find his footing at this event and that is evident by his play in the rumble stage.”

Danny has considerably improved his performance in the rumble stage. Across 10 games, Danny’s 22 kills, 53 assists and 3.7 KDA were among the top three in the AD carry role. Furthermore, his 494 damage per minute was just shy of leading all AD carries in these 10 games, just behind Royal Never Give Up Chen "GALA" Wei’s 495 damage per minute. Overall, Danny has been trending upward, something that Dun knew that the young phenom was capable of once he fully adjusted.

Evil Geniuses have experienced their share of highs and lows, with their lowest point being their current 0-6 record against Europe’s G2 Esports at MSI. Yet, even with their shortcomings and early struggles, Evil Geniuses are beginning to develop into a steady dark horse.

Photo credit: Tina Jo / Riot Games via ESPAT

“While we weren’t at our full strength at the start of the rumble stage, I feel as if we have done a good job winning the games we needed to progress forward,” Dun said. “I think our next step is cleaning up our early game leads so that games in our control don’t go longer than they need to be.”

Evil Geniuses averaged the longest games out of any team throughout the MSI group stage at 31.7 minutes per game. However, their games have been trending in a positive direction, with an average game time that has decreased to 31.1 minutes per game, the fourth fastest in the rumble stage.

With an upward trajectory in nearly every statistical category, Evil Geniuses finished the MSI rumble stage with a respectable 5-5 record, which was good for fourth place in the group and a spot in the knockout stage. Despite a .500 record in the rumble stage, both the individual and team performances have become considerably better deeper into MSI.

Underdogs once again heading into knockout stage

Photo credit: Riot Games

Similar to the LCS playoffs, Evil Geniuses enter the semifinals match against China’s Royal Never Give Up as a fourth-seed underdog. But for Dun and the Evil Geniuses, they are steadily becoming better. Now, their upcoming semifinals matchup is all about executing on those improvements even further.

“We just have to remain calm during these high-pressure situations and just play out the game like we did in the LCS playoffs,” Dun said. “If we continue this upward trajectory and get closer to how we play in scrims, I am sure the results will follow. We are peaking at the right time, so our upcoming series will be a great opportunity for the team to show what we are capable of.”

The semifinals match between Evil Geniuses and Royal Never Give Up will take place on Friday and the two teams will compete for a spot in the MSI final on Sunday. Meanwhile, the other semifinal matchup between G2 and T1 will take place Saturday. All three of these matches will start at 4 a.m. ET.

Lead photo credit: Riot Games