The LCS Spring 2022 Finals has something the past few splits didn't have: a live audience. Due to the global pandemic, fans weren't able to watch their favorite teams live, but that changes now. The NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas will welcome the fans back with the series between Evil Geniuses and Team Liquid.

Going in, Team Liquid look like the favorites to win this matchup. Every name in the Team Liquid roster outshines their counterparts in Evil Geniuses. TL has made notable acquisitions to the organization for this season, and everyone expected them to triumph over the young talent on EG. Soon enough, everyone would be proven wrong.

Teams

Evil Geniuses

RoleTeam Liquid
Jeong “Impact” Eon-youngTopGabriël “Bwipo” Rau
Kacper “Inspired” SłomaJungleLucas “Santorin” Larsen
Joseph “Jojopyun” PyunMidSøren “Bjergsen” Bjerg
Kyle “Danny” SakamakiBotSteven “Hans sama” Liv
Philippe “Vulcan” LaflammeSupportJo “CoreJJ” Yong-in

Matches

Game 1

  • Picks: [EG] Aatrox, Nocturne, Twisted Fate, Jinx, Tahm Kench vs [TL] Shen, Jarvan IV, Corki, Xayah, Renata Glasc.
  • Bans: [EG] Lucian, Karma, Ahri, Gangplank, Rakan vs [TL] Zeri, Ryze, LeBlanc, Lee Sin, Ornn
  • Result: EG win in 32:13 (Kills: EG 13 – 9 TL)

Danny's stage debut in front of crowds went horribly. He and his support Vulcan quickly lost control of lane, and their oppositions' dominance were apparent. Evil Geniuses' only lead were on their top laner on Aatrox, making it difficult to convert into a map-wide lead. However, after Hans sama's misuse of Flash against Infernal Chains, he gets caught out. EG claim the lives of his Xayah and two of his other teammates, putting them in the lead. It wasn't long before Team Liquid found a W though, as despite Corki's unorthodox choice to build Divine Sunderer, the Package-powered Valkyrie was still centric to this. The Package-powered Valkyrie was highlight to them winning a team fight over the third Drake.

Team Liquid, playing into their Dragon Soul win condition, played slow until the fourth Drake spawned. Unfortunately, their supposed Dragon Soul got stolen away, but win the fight that ensued a few minutes after. They took this as a sign to start Baron Nashor instead of attempting another hit on the Drake. Cue Enemy by Imagine Dragons because in walks Jinx and takes everything away from Team Liquid.

It was a tough recovery for Team Liquid and they could not clear the hurdle. Evil Geniuses soon claim Game 1.

Game 2

  • Picks: [EG] Ornn, Diana, Yasuo, Jinx, Tahm Kench vs [TL] Gangplank, Jarvan IV, Twisted Fate, Ashe, Zyra.
  • Bans: [EG] Lucian, Karma, Ahri, Xayah, Caitlyn vs [TL] Zeri, Ryze, LeBlanc, Nocturne, Lee Sin
  • Result: EG win in 44:44 (Kills: EG 22 – 13 TL)

Both teams started showing their cards in draft after Game 1. Evil Geniuses draft the Diana-Yasuo combo for easy engages and even easier execution. On the other hand is Ashe-Zyra, a duo popularized in the LCS a few years ago by now-retired Cloud9 botlane Zachary “Sneaky” Scuderi and Daerek “LemonNation” Hart. Speaking of bot lane, Danny is still somehow allowed by TL to have his Jinx. Coming out of draft, the two teams have different win conditions. Team Liquid wants to gain leads early, while Evil Geniuses' hyper scaling composition wants to drag it out.

It didn't take long for fans to witness the Ashe-Zyra combo back in action, as bot lane started throwing punches early into the game, forcing Danny and Vulcan out of lane. Almost identical to Game 1, Danny is once again off to a horrible start. Luckily for him, his jungler on Diana applied pressure on the enemy having participated in 100% of all the kills by 12 minutes. EG continue to play into their strengths, funneling gold into her in order to accelerate her growth as much as possible.

Team Liquid fight back, and earn themselves a convincing team fight win after catching off the flank by Inspired. Evil Geniuses was down in gold, but the upgrades provided by Ornn equalizes this. Team Liquid's team composition soon fall off, and the gold lead swing into EG's favor after a team fight and slaying Baron. Even the Elder Dragon buff wasn't able to stop EG.

The extended duration of the game is exactly what Jinx wants, and they curb stomp TL one final time to put themselves on match point.

Game 3

  • Picks: [TL] Ornn, Lee Sin, Sylas, Aphelios, Nautilus vs [EG] Aatrox, Trundle, Twisted Fate, Ezreal, Leona.
  • Bans: [TL] Ryze, Zeri, LeBlanc, Gwen, Karma vs [EG] Lucian, Ahri, Tahm Kench, Nocturne, Viego.
  • Result: EG win in 28:38 (Kills: TL 7 – 19 EG)

Match point for EG started out slow. They were slightly behind in the early game, which came naturally with their odd draft. The draft was certainly in the favor of Team Liquid, but was offset by better team fighting from Evil Geniuses. EG, for the first time in the series, stack Drakes early. Team Liquid wanted to put a stop to this, and made sure EG fought long and hard for their third Drake. They soon earn it, and the kills from the team fight put EG in the lead, too. This game was certainly a slow burn, with many plays born of desperation and tilt from Team Liquid. Bjergsen, perhaps due to mental and physical fatigue, showed signs of underperforming in this game.

It wasn't long before EG claim the Ocean Soul and the Baron buffs, which they use to crack open TL's base and explode their nexus.

Evil Geniuses sweep Team Liquid 3-0, and move on to fight 100 Thieves for the title of LCS Spring 2022 Champions.

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