Evil Geniuses sweep CLG 3-0 in LCS 2023 Spring playoffs
Many people were still determining how this series would unfold. Evil Geniuses were definitively the third-best team throughout most of the LCS 2023 Spring Split. However, unfortunate circumstances left the team having to play the remainder of their games remotely as they lost their stronghold on the third seed and entered the playoffs in fifth place.
As for CLG, they had been quite inconsistent all throughout the LCS 2023 Spring Split regular season to which many were unsure if they would even make it to the postseason. However, an intense week 8 performance helped CLG leapfrog all the way to fourth place in the regular season standings. While they entered today’s series following a 3-1 loss to Cloud9, expectations were set for this match to be a very close affair.
At first, things were not close between the two teams. While CLG had some glimmers of greatness with their team setups around fights, the execution was all over the place. This was something that Evil Geniuses capitalized on in games one and two as Evil Geniuses continued to win all these fights. This resulted in a 2-0 start for Evil Geniuses as they quickly found themselves at match point.
With CLG’s LCS 2023 Spring Split on the line, the team pieced together an impressive composition against Evil Geniuses. While Evil Geniuses got the early turret lead at the 15-minute mark, CLG found themselves with the early game tempo advantage as they gathered a 5k gold lead around the 30-minute mark as they postured towards the Evil Geniuses base.
OKAY PALAFOX #LCS pic.twitter.com/DWtLZKUoyf
— LCS (@LCSOfficial) March 26, 2023
CLG found themselves within striking distance of a game-three victory, but CLG was unable to find any openings to end the game. Despite Palafox's Jayce hitting his late-game power spike, it was not enough to close out the game as Evil Geniuses' immaculate team fighting solidified a 3-0 sweep.
Evil Geniuses are BACK.#LCS | #EGWIN pic.twitter.com/Aim0Kew127
— LCS (@LCSOfficial) March 26, 2023
With this victory, Evil Geniuses secured their spot in the Lower Bracket semifinals against Golden Guardians on Friday, Mar. 31, 2023. Both teams will be looking to secure the final spot at Finals Weekend in Raleigh, North Carolina. There, the winner will move forward into the Lower Bracket Grand Final against the loser of Cloud9/FlyQuest.
For now, Evil Geniuses will have a few days to prepare as they look to win the organization’s second LCS title.
Where to watch the LCS 2023 Spring Split
Viewers will be able to tune into the LCS 2023 Spring Split playoffs through the LCS Twitch and YouTube channels.
Sage got his start in esports as a volunteer writer in 2016 for esports organization, Dignitas. Since then, he has continued to work on his craft as a journalist and reporter for a number of established esports publications, such as esports.gg, Unikrn, Akshon Esports, Howla, The Player’s Lobby, Nerd Street Gamers, and most recently Dot Esports. Now, as a member of Esports Illustrated’s content team, Sage’s primary duties are centered around creating groundbreaking written and video content about the esports industry that impacts the community in a meaningful way. Sage graduated from Rutgers University with a Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology and Informatics. There, he was a member of the Rutgers Esports Executive Board, both as the head of the fighting game community and a videographer/photographer for the Content team.