The LCS is finally back after a wildly interesting spring split and the crowning of their brand-new champions after going 12-1 through playoffs and 6-0 in Houston to cement themselves as forces to be reckoned with throughout the rest of the league. This historic run by the Evil Geniuses was nothing short of insane and gave the rest of the league a new name to be feared. Here is something each of the 10 teams in the LCS should aim to prove this summer.

 

10. Immortals

 

Immortals had one of the most disappointing splits any team could have, finishing 10th in the LCS after making roster changes to acquire veterans Tristan “PowerofEvil” Schrage and Jason “WildTurtle” Tran. For this reason precisely, the Immortals absolutely must prove that the addition of their new players will net better results and allow for them to keep a longer-term roster. It appears that their recent news of signing jungler Shane “Kenvi” Espinoza, support Lee “IgNar” Dong-geun, and ADC Lawrence “Lost” Hui show that they want to prove exactly this and are looking for a roster that maybe is not going to win the split, but show promise and potential that will keep the team together.

 

9. Team SoloMid

 

The 2022 spring was hands-down TSM’s worst split in LCS history. Finishing 9th place for a team that has had 7 LCS trophies is frankly unacceptable and management understands that. With new mid-laner Huang “Maple” Yi-Tang taking over what was the team’s biggest weak point and new internal management TSM needs to prove to the world that the spring split was in the past and compete for a top spot in the LCS standings and a ticket to the 2022 World Championship.

 

8. Counter Logic Gaming

 

It has been a while since CLG has, to put it bluntly, seen any success with their League of Legends teams and they need to prove that they have a plan internally to turn things around within the organization. While we did see a small glimpse of improvement in Spring, CLG needs to compete for a playoff spot in order for any of their promises to actually mean anything.

 

7. Team Dignitas

 

Dignitas had fairly high expectations coming into Spring 2022 as they took down reigning LCS champions 100 Thieves in the LCS Lock-in Tournament off the back of impressive Jarvan performances from Korean jungler Kim “River” Dong-woo. Because of this, their elimination from playoffs was quite disappointing. Returning, but new to Dignitas top laner Noh “Gamsu” Yeong-jin hopes to be the answer that Dignitas needs, and both he and the team need to prove that they are potential Dark Horses in the LCS.

 

6. Golden Guardians

 

Golden Guardians had a surprisingly strong start to the 2022 Spring season due to the strong mid-jungle duo of Nicholas “Ablazeolive” Abbott and Milo “Pridestalkr” Wehnes but unfortunately placed 5th place in the LCS, losing their first playoff series to Cloud9 0-3. This split, GG needs to prove that they can compete in the playoffs and must not only qualify but win a couple of series in the playoffs to do so.

 

5. FlyQuest

 

FlyQuest as an organization does care a lot about its players and allows for them to grow by constantly switching players from their LCS Academy team and the main roster. Additionally, jungler Brandon “Josedeodo” Villegas and French mid-laner Loïc “toucouille” Dubois seem to have a lot of synergy after the Spring 2022 split and their fiery 5-1 start to the split. Unfortunately, their time of glory ran out nearing playoffs and was eliminated instantly losing 1-3 to the Evil Geniuses. FlyQuest needs to prove that they can end the year as well as they started it and show some consistency in not only their rosters but also their results.

 

4. Cloud9

 

Cloud9 must make it to at least semifinals of the 2022 World Championship to prove themselves. The “Kings of Spring” had unfortunately gotten swept by the Evil Geniuses in the Lower Bracket Semi-Finals to land 4th place in the LCS in 2022 Spring. With a team that had various changes to not only their players, but their coaching staff the 4th place result was not too unexpected; however, this split Cloud9 must land in the top 3 to go to worlds to redeem themselves as a better version of what they have been in years past with the return of Nicolaj “Jensen” Jensen.

 

3. Team Liquid

 

Team Liquid is by far the most elite team in the LCS. Players like Søren “Bjergsen” Bjerg and Jo “CoreJJ” Yong-in were grouped together in order to be elite. To put it simply, any loss this team suffers is disappointing and their eyes should be set on revenge in the LCS after being sent home in a mere 3rd place after being swept by the Evil Geniuses. It has been 3 years since Liquid has hoisted an LCS trophy and in order to prove themselves, they must win the LCS and perform well at Worlds as well.

 

2. 100 Thieves

 

100 Thieves were the 2021 Summer reigning LCS champions and attempted to make it back-to-back in 2022 spring and placed 2nd only falling short to EG. As the longest-standing core of 5, 100 Thieves must continue to place high in the standings to prove that longevity within a team is far more important than just mashing individually talented players together. 100 Thieves must also perform well internationally and to do that they must place top 3 in the LCS during Summer 2022.

 

1. Evil Geniuses

 

The Evil Geniuses need to prove that they are here to stay. The 2022 Spring LCS Champions have been widely hailed as the next-coming of North American League of Legends as players like Joseph “jojopyun” Pyun and Kyle “Danny” Sakamaki was able to take down all of their competition in the LCS with relative ease. Worlds must be the next target of the Evil Geniuses and in order to punch their ticket to the S-tier international event, they must continue to produce strong results domestically.