Led by the eccentric but undeniably effective contribution of mid-laner Daniele “Jiizuke” di Mauro, Evil Geniuses finished Week 5 of the 2021 LCS Summer Split on a very high note, going 3-0 for the first time this year. By posting a 9-6 record so far, they currently sit in fifth place on the LCS standings and are in prime position to surpass Mid-Season Showdown finalists Cloud9 and Team Liquid.
Without a doubt, life has gone great for the team, and the same can be said for their Italian mid-laner. Throughout summer, Jiizuke has performed as one of the best mid-laners in all the LCS, sitting inside the Top 3 for individual gold differential at 10 minutes, CS per minute, damage dealt to champions per minute, earned gold per minute, and gold share. This was dictated by his playstyle which sees him diverge from the team to look for surprise engages with the opposing team to surprise them entirely, prompting fans to voice their displeasure after viewing such a strategy.
The controversy surfaced from the public pushback, but that didn’t disturb Jiizuke’s performance. The Evil Crew kept winning, so what really is there to air grievances for? Nevertheless, Jiizuke kept tabs on that outcry, for after completing a successful Week 5, he talked with Gamezo in an interview about it in addition to EG’s performance, his work with head coach Peter Dun, and the upcoming playoffs.
