As we know, in the early hours of today – April 25th, the champion of the LCS Spring 2022 has been determined. It is not Cloud9 or Team Liquid, but the youthful Evil Geniuses, who have enough experienced players, that has secured their spot at MSI 2022. This can be described as an incredibly emotional victory for EG as they came up from the lower bracket with a score of 12-1 and deservedly claimed the championship.
After the LCS Spring 2022 concluded, fans of League of Legends in North America couldn’t help but have high hopes for their champions. This is understandable as the current EG is a team with the experience of Impact, Vulcan, and the hunger for victory from younger players, even those considered unknown like Jojopun and Danny. However, watching this tournament, T1’s CEO – Joe Marsh believes that no matter which team it is, the LCS will always be a stepping stone.
T1 Joe Marsh: “All the fans, commentators, or anyone related to the LCS think that success in the regional tournament will help them perform well on the international stage. Some even believe they can defeat Korean teams, something like that. And then the reality is that LCS teams go global just to face defeat.
Hey LS, do you know what? I think the only game Jojopun could win against Faker is Fortnite. Meanwhile, in Korea, that game is almost nonexistent. Therefore, no matter which representative LCS sends to MSI, they will just face defeat.”
In reality, the “Big Boss” of T1 is not wrong at all as LCS teams have had quite lackluster performances internationally in recent years. Even the fact that LCS teams advance past the group stage of Worlds or perform well at MSI is seen as a “phenomenon” or “surprise” since they are often easily defeated by Eastern representatives.
This is largely due to the lack of a “tryhard” mentality in North America, where players must engage in too many entertainment activities and streaming. Not to mention the extremely poor youth training system in the LCS region, where the Academy league seems to be merely a way for teams to comply with Riot’s regulations. Perhaps names like Jojopun and Danny from EG are rare young players who have risen from the Academy league to win the LCS.