There are only two more games left to play before becoming champions in LCS Summer 2022.
After one of the most exciting playoffs in recent memory, the summer playoffs are near the finish line. The remaining three teams will face off at the United Center in Chicago for better Worlds 2022 seeding, and the eventual LCS Summer 2022 champions. A fun fact about the three teams we’ll be seeing over the finals weekend is that they are the teams that won the title in the last three splits (C9 Spring 2021, 100T Summer 2021 and EG Spring 2022).
The weekend will begin with a Lower Bracket final game between 100 Thieves and Evil Geniuses, the winner of which will go on to face Cloud9 in the final game of the Summer Split. The Lower Bracket Finals are especially important this year, as the loser of that game will have to play in the World’s play-in stage, which is a lot piled up with the LEC this year with an extra team. All three participating teams have had a very long road up to this point, and Finals Weekend promises more great league action for fans. So let’s take a look at the teams and what we can expect from them.
100 Thieves Vs Evil Geniuses
Before any conversation about this matchup, we should first talk about the unfortunate circumstances surrounding it. This Tuesday, Evil Geniuses announced that their youth ADC Kyle ‘Danny’ Sakamaki will be taking a break from the team “in order to focus. [his] mental health,” and EG Academy ADC Hassan ‘Kaori’ Centurk will be his replacement.
With love in regards to our league roster for Chicago.
Thank you for understanding and sending wonderful vibes forever to the Prince of Pentacles. pic.twitter.com/cMvZqqNtiH— EG Nicole LaPointe Jameson (@totheLaPointe) September 6, 2022
Danny’s underperformance during the LCS Summer 2022 playoffs has been the subject of constant discussion among fans as he was not well-known for Carey’s performance showing some issues with his champion pool. Despite his issues, Danny still had some good moments during EG’s playoffs. For example, he had the highest DPM of all ten players in the TL series, even taking a staggering 42% loss share in Game 5.
But it’s not all over for EG. Kaori, a TCL importer, has been a shining star for the Easy Academy team. According to many, he is the top two ADCs in the league along with TL’s Sean ‘Yon’ Sung. And while he is new to the LCS, he had many playoff experience in the Turkish league. He also has a champion pool that fits into the meta, for example Kalista and Lucian plays, which can help with the drafting.
If Kaori can step up to the plate, the rest of the EG has been on an upward trajectory. Impact and Inspired had a better series than C9, and Vulcan TL was one of the best players in the series. But the most important factor for EG ahead of Saturday’s game is the resurgence of Jojopyune. He was already on a hot streak after Swain’s performance in Game 5 against TSM, but he had several carry performances against TL. Looks like Rookie of the Year is peaking at just the right time.
On the other hand, this roster of 100 Thieves has been one of the most reliable teams in the LCS ever since they came together. They won the 2021 Summer Split after adding Felix ‘Abedge’ Braun, and made the next split again in the final. Even as the community doubted his performance during parts of the regular season, he never failed to show up once the playoffs began.
The 100T bot lane has been one of the best in the league this year and considering EG playing with a stand-in at ADC, it could give the Thieves a huge advantage. The 100T bot lane likes to play Lucian/Nami to gain an early advantage, and TL showed that EG’s bot lane can indeed be susceptible to early ganks and dives.
They are evenly matched either at the top. While EG was able to garner some advantages by impacting on carry champions like Gankplank, Sumday is much better at playing the weaker side and is still contributing extensively to teamfights. And speaking of teamfights, EG and 100T were the two best teams when it came to just 5v5 their opponent and win games that way. But with Danny out, EG is at a huge disadvantage in this aspect of the game. So unless Kaori can slot in enough for it or EG can punish 100T’s over-aggression as C9 did, 100 Thieves should be the favorite to make it to the day of the final.
cloud 9
A fun fact about Cloud9 from the most recent episode of JLXP, C9 made finals in at least one division of the LCS every single year. It shows that the organization itself is no stranger to a culture of winning. Not to mention that every single player on their current roster has won at least one LCS trophy, except for Kim ‘Bersucker’ Min-cheol, who is arguably their best player in this current run.
Still, they were nowhere close to being final favorites in this division, neither at the start of the summer nor just before the playoffs. Not many expected this team to lead 3-1 in both EG and 100T, especially against a good series against CLG. But they were able to overcome any obstacle that came their way, and they showed that they are the best team in the league at the moment.
His individual performance is definitely above the regular season. Their bot lane pairing has always been a force during the late game, but they are doing much better in the lane this post season. It also helped a lot that Fudge and Blabber made their mistakes, especially in the opening game. And with them being one of the few remaining teams that can have a consistent draft advantage using a top lane counter pick or a pocket pick like Neela, it looks like they will have the upper ground in this Sunday’s final.
LCS Summer 2022 Playoff Schedule
lower bracket final
LCS Summer Finals
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