FlyQuest's royal Prince slain by LCS' first Garen pick
With so much riding on the line both on and off the rift, there was a feeling in the air that today was not going to be like any other day.
That proved to be true as Evil Geniuses took LCS viewers and historians on a journey through Demacia as they became the first LCS team to pick Garen in LCS history.
Met with a wave of cheers in the LCS crowd, the last thing on Evil Geniuses' agenda was to let Garen make his debut on a loss. Evil Geniuses got the early headstart against FlyQuest. The top side of the map was heavily favored towards Evil Geniuses. As the rest of the players were defending midlane, all eyes were on Kim "Ssumday" Chan-ho's Garen, taking towers in toplane by himself.
Both funny and impressive, Evil Geniuses' historic Garen pick was making headway against all of FlyQuest's attempts to stop an upset from coming to life. The teams went back and forth with one another as the game entered the late stages of the game. Then, it finally happened. As Evil Geniuses were on the precipice of defeat, Ssumday's Garen slayed FlyQuest's Lee "Prince" Chae-hwan as they put the finishing touches on a historic game.
Evil Geniuses move to 9-4 in LCS 2023 Spring
In the post-game interview conducted by former LCS jungler Will "Meteos" Hartman, he spoke to Philippe "Vulcan" Laflamme following Evil Geniuses' Garen victory. In it, the Evil Geniuses' support highlighted a funny tidbit that LCS viewers will be greeted to in the coming days.
"Every time he got a kill with his Garen ult, we told Ssumday to scream Demacia on the voice comms," Vulcan told the LCS crowd. "So keep an eye out for when that releases.
This win for Evil Geniuses marks a bounce back from the team's abysmal week five showing against Dignitas and Golden Guardians. Now, after a 2-0 weekend, Evil Geniuses have moved back into the top three of the LCS 2023 Spring Split with this win. With only five games left in the split, Evil Geniuses will be looking to make a run up the standings as they prepare for playoffs.
With this loss, FlyQuest now stands at an 11-2 record, still atop the LCS standings. That being said, this loss proves that the LCS frontrunners have some fine-tuning that needs to be done if they are to win their first LCS split. In an interview with Evil Geniuses' botlaner Ian Victor "FBI" Huang, he stated that while FlyQuest, "are a very good team on stage," they are "not as good in scrims."
When asked about some of FlyQuest's weaknesses, FlyQuest support Bill "Eyla" Nguyen highlighted communication as something that needed work.
"I think there isn't a lot of communication right now, but it's hard for me to tell because I wasn't on the team back then," Eyla said after their game against CLG. "It's just the reality and it will take a bit of time to work on, especially since it's my second week. But I'm confident."
Regardless, they will have an opportunity to bounce back in week 7, where they will go up against Team Liquid and Immortals.
Regardless, the eventual rematch between Evil Geniuses and FlyQuest was one that did not disappoint. From LCS support Twitter banter to the LCS' first Garen pick, this match had it all and it is a must-watch if you happened to miss out on this LCS classic.
Where you can watch League of Legends LCS
Viewers can tune in for week 7 of the LCS 2023 Spring Split through the LCS Twitch and YouTube channels. The action will continue next week on March 9, 2023 as the LCS enters its final five regular season games of the split.
