The Winding Road to the Windy City
Three titans face off in Chicago, Danny makes a tough choice, and a respawned objective
Welcome back, Scuttlers!
What is the mark of an iconic sequel?
Perhaps the development of a beloved, but misunderstood protagonist? Maybe it’s a suspenseful cliffhanger and endless possibilities for jaw-dropping outcomes? Or is it the deep-rooted passion established by audience commitment to a riveting narrative? Pick whichever option you wish for the little-awaited return of Scuttlestack — we won’t judge, nor be swayed by flattery.
As we look toward the weekend, LCS fans hold an inspiring, enthralling season to their backs as they face the apex of North American League of Legends competition in Chicago. On the backs of mad dashes for playoff spots, difficult roster decisions, and unparalleled LCS storytelling, only one team will victoriously be able to fly their pendant when they return to Los Angeles.
Let’s hit the rift.
Over the course of this weekend, Cloud 9, 100 Thieves, and Evil Geniuses will brawl to hoist the LCS Championship trophy (luckily not designed by Tiffany & Co. like its World Championship counterpart). Let’s set some expectations.
100 Thieves step into the rift as unassuming as ever. This is the exact same squad that topped the 2021 Summer Split, the same squad that came runner-up during the 2022 Spring Finals, and the same squad that went 3-3 and failed to escape the Group of Death at Worlds. This isn’t to say that 100 Thieves isn’t a squad to watch. They’ve been fairly consistent, and assumed one of the most lowkey 14-4 records I can remember. However, the team has had their fair share of slip-ups, where bottom-tier squads gain aggressive gold leads and sneak easy kills despite their dominant position. As a whole, the team is resolute and confident, and with a year of synergy under their belt, I expect them to give Evil Geniuses a run for their money in the lower bracket. My only hope is that enemy teams ban Aatrox so Huhi can broaden his champion pool this playoffs (currently running the champion in 7 out of his 9 playoff matches).
Evil Geniuses have the wind to their backs, but that momentum has caused them to trip this postseason. After a stunting setback in their upper bracket loss to Cloud 9, the split frontrunners narrowly won series against TSM and Team Liquid in their lower bracket run. While it captures the young team’s grit and innovation, it presents worries as they face their toughest opponents yet. Throughout playoffs, the team has shown a shifting playstyle — moving the pressure and priority off of Danny and toward Jojopyun and Impact. This realignment — likely stemming from Danny’s mental hurdles, which we’ll get into shortly — is forcing the team as a whole to rewrite the playbook, and requiring the team to carry the Pentakill Prince’s mantle. With Kaori stepping into the ADC role, I anticipate the team’s resources continue to be funneled top-side, leaning on Impact, Inspired, and Jojopyun to show up. However, the trio is facing dominant top sides in 100 Thieves and Cloud 9, and I don’t expect clean games to come easy — if at all.
Cloud 9 leads the pack at the top of the bracket, and rides an optimistic hot-streak. Outside of a close series into CLG, little has seemed to slow this team down. Zven has continued to show promise in his new role throughout the season, and alongside Berserker, most teams have failed to exploit their bot lane duo. Fudge continues to flex a deep, dominant champion pool, which will prove especially important in competitive matchups against Huhi and Impact. Blaber has been a generator for plays around the map with high-impact picks like Wukong and Poppy, and Jenson’s veteran status and flexibility fill in the gaps. Into a victorious 100 Thieves, I expect Cloud 9 to lean top side and push Fudge ahead, while I expect them to roll a neat, little snowball for Berserker to scale against a fairly inexperienced Evil Geniuses ADC in Kaori. With targets on their backs, now is the time for Cloud 9 to run a victory lap.
Ahead of the most impactful weekend of the LCS regular season, Evil Geniuses made the decision to bench Danny, CEO Nicole LaPoint Jameson announced on Twitter. While surprising to many, those that watched the young ADC’s emotional breakdown after their victory against Team Liquid could have predicted such a move. The 18-year-old standout has been one of the team’s star players, and declared the next generation of grassroots LCS talent. Clad with the title “The Prince of Pentakills,” Danny didn’t step down - he stepped up.
Both fan expectations and Evil Geniuses’ bot-oriented playstyle has placed immense pressure on Danny all season. For nearly all of it, he rose to the occasion and delivered his team not only to the top of the Summer regular season, but through a challenging lower bracket run. However, off the rift, Danny is Kyle, a 18-year-old kid with expectations typically reserved for iconic League of Legends players. Danny’s skill on the rift does not make him immune to these pressures, nor does it overshadow the fact that off the rift, he’s still a kid.
In an industry plagued by hustle and grind culture (especially highlighted by industry journalists like Adam Fitch, Billy Studholme, and Jason Schreier this week), it takes courage to pull out of such a momentous event — both from Danny and Evil Geniuses as an organization. For many fans, this should signal the preservation of Danny’s talent and signal the organization’s deep investment in his development. I expect Danny to come back stronger than ever next LCS season, if not in time for worlds.
Let’s set some new expectations for Scuttlestack. The type of content that I truly want to define the newsletter is rich technical and cultural analysis of what defines the LCS, its players, teams, and fans. What I don’t want to define it are quick-turns, half-baked arguments, and passionless writing.
As Scuttlestack “respawns” in this new iteration, we’ll be foregoing a regular cadence, and rather spending that energy on elevating the content within it. In essence, rather than setting rules and structures to work within, I plan to toy with my newfound literary freedom and use it to create a more inspiring space. I’ll play with interviews, audio content, graphics, instructionals, and whatever else my little Gold 3 heart desires. In that fashion, I’ll leave you with little more expectations than that. Hopefully you’ll queue up with me for the ride.
Picking Yuumi as a tactical counterpick (and not because it allows me to scroll Twitter during a game),
Nick Mo.