Week 5: The ScuttleStack LCS Stock Index
Riding $GLDN to the moon and speculating potential $TSM upsides
Welcome back Scuttlers,
The bell has rung and the markets are open! Minions are racing to place their offers — selling 100 shares of Maokai jungle dominance, buying 300 penny stock shares of Dignitas copium, watching skeptically as analysts reassess the value of a marksman support-based portfolio. In the moments after these transactions go through, a guiding voice breaks the noise: the authoritative ScuttleStack LCS Stock Index.
Nervous that your favorite squad may not make it to playoffs?
Want to ensure the team you cheer for makes it to the international stage?
Want to hop on the hype train and support the team on a hot streak?
Today, rest assured that your precious LCS fandom can be placed with optimal ROI (that’s “return on investment,” for you layfolk following at home) in mind, which is really just the financial equivalent of “playing for the late game.” The ScuttleStack LCS Stock Index is a surefire way to make sure you approach this week of matches with a (metaphorical) Rod of Ages in hand and an (also metaphorical) Ornn in the top lane.
Disclosure: ScuttleStack is not in a position to legally provide financial advice. Invest at your own discretion.
🔥Hot Stocks 📈
Golden Guardians (⬆️⬆️⬆️)
Golden Guardians (LCS: $GLDN) were not the team spectators expected to be on a franchise-defining win streak going into Week 5. Especially with matchups against a disappointing Team Liquid and Immortals, I don’t see the team’s momentum slowing down anytime soon. Early-adopting fans have already received strong payouts for their early-split faith, but I would bet that if Golden Guardians continues to play as strong as they have been they can maintain their win streak through the next five matches they play at the very least — positioning them strongly going into playoffs.
FlyQuest (⬆️)
FlyQuest (LCS: $FLYQ) are perhaps the safest bet for your fandom in the LCS. With FlyQuest, you generally know what you’re getting: smart, consistent gameplay. Their match against Dignitas last week was one of the most entertaining, despite the outcome being a much-expected slam dunk for the boys in green. I’d expect another strong performance against CLG, and their game against Evil Geniuses will lend itself to a handful of explosive lane matchups, including Jojopyun into VicLa.
Cloud9 (⬆️⬆️)
Cloud9 (LCS: $CNINE) made a bold decision in bringing Emenes up from their NACL roster. With a history of toxicity and a hyper-aggressive playstyle, the team was still taking a risk despite Diplex’s underperformance. The squad’s match into Golden Guardians left much to be desired across the board, but especially for Emenes who felt useless leaving laning phase. However, on an assassin playing against TSM, we saw a whole new look for Emenes, who took control of the game, handedly won his lane matchup, and became an unavoidable thread. If this holds up, I expect this to breath a lot of life into an already hot Cloud9, and am really looking forward to see how Emenes is tested into a relatively competitive midlane pool.
🧊Cold Stocks📉
Team Liquid (⬇️⬇️)
Team Liquid (LCS: $WET) has continually failed to find their footing. Their win last week against Immortals still left much to be desired, and their loss to 100 Thieves snubbed any momentum the team had in their favor. Frankly, I really don’t know why this team has failed to translate a strong roster (on paper) into consistent results, but I see no indication they’ll hit their stride soon. I don’t expect significant changes from a roster perspective, so it’ll be up to Summit and Pyosik to step up a bit more and CoreJJ to further enable Yeon in an ADC-centric meta. Even with this, I don’t know where Team Liquid’s ceiling (or floor) is anymore, so fandom investment in this squad in its current state seems risky.
TSM (⬇️)
TSM (LCS: $TSM… Duh.) is all peaks and valleys. The team went from a predictably slow start to an expectation-shattering uptick, and is now back down in a bit of a slump. While the Cloud9 loss feels reasonable, I would have more faith in this team if they could have snuck a win out of last week’s match against CLG. Maple is a strong contender as a top midlaner in the league, but his Kassadin into CLG provided him an opportunity to be a crucial playmaker where he ultimately fell short. I don’t think this is a knock against Maple in the slightest, or even against the team as a whole. TSM is facing Evil Geniuses and Team Liquid this week — both of which I firmly believe they can take games off of. The risk is there, but so it the payoff.
One of my absolute favorite players last year was Evil Geniuses’ Danny. His debut in 2021 represented a story of a promising amateur carving his own path to pro, and his sophomore season following dubbed him the Pentakill Prince. On the rift, Danny was explosive and consistent, and off the rift, he was humble and charming. Together, Danny’s brief stint in the LCS positioned him — in my eyes, at least — as a grassroots icon and someone fans expected to be a North American figurehead as he matured into the league.
In the lead-up to last year’s North American playoffs, however, Danny reached a tipping point. The physical and mental stress of competition pushed him too far, and he announced that he would be stepping back from the LCS to take care of himself. ScuttleStack covered this news as a major roster development heading into playoffs, as Danny would immediately be replaced by Kaori, who had limited practice with the starting squad and a radically different playstyle. However, in the months since, there has been far more conversation on what really happened to Danny behind the scenes.
Esports journalist Richard Lewis brought the topic up last week on Thorin’s1 “The Four Horseman” podcast, where the roundtable discussed how the narrative around Danny's departure may be misconstrued. This prompted Danny to break his silence, saying he is joining Evil Geniuses’ creator roster and simultaneously defusing allegations that the organization was behind any of his previous decisions.
Over the past week, there has been a surge of claims that many of the allegations against Evil Geniuses and its executive team are true, with these rumors substantiating in a bombshell report from Dexerto’s Richard Lewis.
In the report, Lewis cites anonymous sources2 that claim Danny’s mental and physical deterioration was ignored by team staff to the point where a doctor claimed he was suffering from malnutrition — largely due to a medical condition that makes handling stress more difficult. Some staff tried to speak up, but were quickly shut down, deflected, or ignored by managerial and performance staff. The result was Danny being encouraged to continue to play, despite asking for time off for his wellbeing, so that he could retain more market value for a potential sale in the offseason. The alleged “resolution” to the situation came from Evil Geniuses CEO Nicole LaPointe Jameson speaking directly to Danny, where the duo agreed he would play up until Playoffs in Chicago.
My thoughts?3
I have historically had a lot of respect for Evil Geniuses as an organization — in fact, I’ve previously applauded for how they handled Danny stepping away from the LCS. However, this new reporting and Danny’s comments on the situation have made me far more critical. Lewis’ report speaks for itself, and since its release, there is even more speculation around if Danny’s own comments are genuine. NDAs and smart corporate communications have a significant impact over how narratives are construed, and given the circumstances, I would hedge my bets that Danny’s words are not his own — rather, they’re a statement coming from Evil Geniuses in lieu of an official statement of their own.
As for the organization, this systematic failure should warrant a full investigation, not only from Evil Geniuses internally, but through the Player’s Association4 and Riot Games. This team didn't just let Danny down as a player -- they and the system around him ground him to dust. The structures established by Riot Games (such as those created in the wake of TSM's bullying situation) did little to help. And what did it cost? One of the LCS’s brightest young prospects in recent history.
Closing Thoughts
Moving forward, what matters most to me as a fan and spectator, however, is supporting Danny. Whether a player is a powerhouse or a prodigy, these situations play a crucial role in our fandom and who we cheer for. Whether it strips the league of a player or destroys the trust you have in an organization, these blows take time — and significant work — to repair.
At the end of the day, you’re looking at a young adult who was allegedly abused by the team that was supposed to be supporting him. The pressure from leadership, his teammates, fans, and more is a lot to carry, and I truly hope that Danny is ready and enthusiastic to take a step in the direction he believes is best. Support him on Twitter and Twitch whenever he makes a full return.
There’s a lot of magic in the LCS fandom — hopefully that magic means Danny can find recovery and success in content creation.
Telling my ADC that I brought ignite for the heal-cut (and lying),
Nick Mo.
Editor’s Note: I usually try to limit giving exposure to Thorin given his problematic tenure in the esports landscape. I found it essential to mention the podcast snippet as key to this larger story, but won’t be linking to avoid giving Thorin free airspace.
A note on anonymous sources: Just because a source is anonymous does not mean it should be discredited. Anonymous sources are often placed under more scrutiny from a reporting perspective, and Lewis demonstrated how he corroborated each source’s story with other interviews. This report seems pretty solid, and it’s something Evil Geniuses will have to answer to.
Funny enough, I had this section written well before Lewis’ piece dropped, and there was a lot in here about speculation, the rumor mill, and public relations. I feel a lot more strongly about my stance with this reporting, but to be perfectly clear, this is not a black and white issue. If Evil Geniuses is truthfully conducting an investigation into the matter and it reports foul play (or otherwise), things could shift.
Per Lewis’ report, the PA is not currently conducting an investigation on the situation. I’m unsure if that will change.