The Evil Geniuses started running after their spring miracle run. The rookies were able to play many games on stage in that process, and they even gained precious international experience at the MSI. After the summer split began, they didn’t get any slower as they collected 15 wins while only dropping three matches. 

In their continuing run, Jeong “Impact” Eon-young stood solidly in their top lane, supporting the younger players with his veteran expertise. Inven Global talked with Impact after the season was concluded to talk about the summer split and the games to come.

The playoffs have started. How was the regular season overall?

It wasn’t bad. It’s regretful that I wasn’t able to have a fully satisfying performance. I think I didn’t play well enough. The team’s results were good, but it was a season I wasn’t satisfied with my own performance.

Why do you think so?

I thought that my decision-making wasn’t that good. I was a bit tense as well, so I wasn’t able to do what I’ve been able to do up to now.

EG still had a 15-3 season. Which player do you think played the best?

A lot of people would say Inspired, but I think everyone did their role well. When someone underperformed, we covered for each other. As you know, LoL isn’t a game that you can win by just playing alone yourself. We were able to finish in 1st place because everyone did well.

You weren’t able to make it into the All-Pro 1st Team. What are your thoughts?

If you look at the votes, Ssumday had more media votes, and I had more player votes. It might be because the media didn’t watch the scrims — I did pretty well in scrims. I don’t really mind, since I think I won in our games.

Why did EG pick the C9-CLG bracket?

I didn’t really mind whichever side we were to face, but the team thought it through, thinking which side would have a better chance for us to go to Worlds. It’s better to pick the easier way, and we decided that this side was more manageable.

Did you predict that C9 would beat CLG?

Yes, I thought they would, but I think they didn’t perform as well as I thought they would. I didn’t think it would be a 3-0 sweep — maybe a 3-1 match since CLG fights fearlessly, but 3-2 was something I didn’t expect. Frankly, the performance was a bit disappointing.

As you said, C9 and CLG went to five games. Did it help EG plan the draft and analyze their plays? How about the 12.15 patch direction?

There were a few things that helped. One of the things that surprised me was that they picked the top lane champion early. There wasn’t too much to see, though. The 12.15 patch isn’t that different, so that part wasn’t a big issue either.

As you’re starting from round 2, it’s been two weeks since you played last. How much does that affect the team’s performance?

It differs by player. Some players say it’s no fun because there are no games, and some say it’s more convenient. As for me, I wish we could play earlier. If we’re on a break, it feels loose, and if the tournament ends late, we can’t even bootcamp. If the NA playoffs had been held earlier, the teams could have prepared for Worlds better. We might even be able to go bootcamp in Korea. Still, we need to win our next match to secure a ticket to Worlds, so we need to play well, whatever the circumstances.

You were 1-1 against CLG but 2-0 against C9 during the regular season. Does that ease your mind in any way?

The regular season and playoffs are way different, so it doesn’t really matter. We fight through our abilities, so this kind of record doesn’t really mean anything.

On the other hand, there could be a team that might fight their way up as EG did in the spring. Do you think there’s any team that can do that?

Not really. C9 is the better team among the rest, but after watching their first round, I’m not sure. I don’t think there would be any team that can match our run. I believe the top three teams, EG, 100T, and TL, will go to Worlds.

For Worlds 2022, the LCK, LPL, and LEC send four teams. What do you think as an LCS player?

I think we need to prove ourselves through results to change that. I don’t mind too much. After all, we weren’t able to prove ourselves internationally, so that’s why the seeds went to the other regions. It’s natural not getting the seeds if we don’t deliver. It might change if we do better than EU in this Worlds, but rather than thinking about the seeds, it’s more important to get good results in the first place.

How do you think the playoffs would go?

I believe we can win. As for 100T and TL… I think 100T will win 3-1, but it depends on what those teams prepared. We’ll need to see, especially since the unexpected often happens in NA. [Laughs] Well, that’s probably why LoL is fun. You can’t really predict what’ll happen. Who would have thought that LNG would beat V5?

Now that you mention it, have you been watching a lot of LCK and LPL?

I’ve been watching all the games. I’ve been watching the LCK too, but it was more fun watching the LPL. I think the average performance that the LPL shows is better than that of the LCK. It’s definitely more fun to watch the LPL since they’re more aggressive and fight more often.

Any resolutions for the playoffs?

I’ll do better so that we can reach Worlds and perform well there. Well, rather than talking about what might come in the future, I need to pounce on the match we have right ahead of us. I’ll need to talk after we do well in our next match. I had that mindset in the spring, and after all, we went to the MSI, right?

You said that C9’s performance was slightly disappointing, but what do you think you should be the most aware of?

C9 isn’t a team that fights bad, and since Blaber is a very aggressive player, I think we need to be careful of him the most. I think Blaber’s C9’s biggest strength and their biggest weakness as well. The variables should come from there.