Danny's Legacy: LCS breakout star will not play for Evil Geniuses in 2023
Evil Geniuses (EG) are reportedly looking at different players to fill in their ADC role in preparation for the 2023 season, and Danny is unlikely to start, according to sources from Sander Hove with Game Haus.
THE METEORIC RISE
EG's breakout ADC Kyle "Danny" Sakamaki quickly became a player to root for in the LCS. Danny's 1v5 Tristana outplay in the LCS 2021 Championship against 100 Thieves (100T) must have grabbed loads of fans off the backs of his outplay, as well as his performance in the series as a whole. While EG narrowly lost to 100T 2-3, it was crystal clear there was a star in the making.
Danny and Evil Geniuses concluded the LCS 2022 Spring regular season at fourth, before making an insane run through lower bracket into the Finals, only dropping one game the entire LCS 2022 Spring Playoffs. EG would take home their first LCS title as an organization, with an astounding 12-1 record as they swept through Spring Playoffs.
Inversely, EG would finish the LCS 2022 Summer regular season in first, poised to take back-to-back LCS titles. They would then narrowly take down Team Liquid (TL) in the lower bracket of the LCS 2022 Championship 3-2, guaranteeing the organization a spot in the Play-Ins portion of Worlds 2022.
Just four days before Evil Geniuses were set to play 100 Thieves in Chicago for the penultimate round in the Championship, EG CEO Nicole LaPointe Jameson released a statement regarding Danny's decision to step down from the roster to focus on his mental health. In hindsight, Danny's performance particularly during the EG vs. TL series had the prodigy ADC looking uncharacteristically shaky.
WHAT NOW?
Since Danny's departure on 6 September, the official Evil Geniuses Twitter page announced their starting Academy ADC Muhammed "Kaori" Hasan Şentürk would be moved up to starting ADC for EG's LCS roster. Considering EG had to rebuild synergy with Kaori, the team's overall performance was solid against 100T, taking it to five games before ultimately losing the series. Unfortunately, Evil Geniuses' Worlds 2022 run ended swiftly, finishing 1-5 and not exiting the Group Stage.
Kaori's performance during his brief run with the EG main roster shows lots of promise, and it will be exciting to see what the future holds for him. With talks of Upset prematurely ending his contract with Fnatic, and a potential Doublelift LCS return, the ADC pool for top LCS teams is sure to have some coveted pick-ups once the off-season develops further.
Image source provided by Riot Games.