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Evil Geniuses comeback from a 2-10 deficit to secure a win over Sentinels
After a dream 2023, Evil Geniuses came into 2024 with a lot of problems. The Championship winning squad was reduced to two members, Jawgemo and Potter.
Potter had to rebuild two months before the Americas season started. Despite the little turnaround time, EG won their opening game and qualified for the Kickoff Playoffs.
They surprised everyone after they defeated LOUD on Ascent, unfortunately, they could not close out the game and missed out on Madrid.
Evil Geniuses started their VCT Americas League Split 1 with a loss against G2 Esports. Despite their strong start in their second game of the season, they lost to Cloud9, going 0-2 down.
Coming into the VCT Americas Superweek, EG’s situation was dire, they had to win atleast one game to stay in the contention for the Playoffs.
Given their current form, their best chance was against KRU Esports who despite the strong performance were an easier opponent than Sentinels, the Madrid Champions.
Unfortunately, KRU dominated EG. After the game, Potter unveiled their (EG’s) plans for the rest of the season (two games):
“At this point, our plans have shifted a little bit. We're looking ahead to split two, using the last two matches to kind of build that confidence for ourselves.”
Despite the changed focus, a win over Sentinels will keep EG in Playoff contention, especially with Omega Group having multiple teams without a win.
The two squads, especially Potter and Kaplan, have a long history of playing with each other. Potter also made a tongue and cheek tweet about it. Sentinels were still heavily favored in the game and there was a chance EG would go down 0-4.
Sentinels 2-1 Evil Geniuses:
The game started with EG winning seven straight rounds over Sentinels, but Sentinels came back to win three rounds. The 9-3 curse was in full effect in the second half as SEN dominated the half to secure a 13-10 victory.
In the first half of Bind, EG went down 2-10. Now, if they lose the map, it completely destroys all the chances to qualify for the playoffs. Moreover, the loss would reduce their chances to qualify for VALORANT Champions 2024.
But EG came back and turned it around. In the second half, they won eleven rounds to close the map 13-11, forcing Sunset.
EG and Sentinels went blow for blow on Sunset, the first half ended in a tie and in the second half EG’s attack spearheaded by Jawgemo blew past Sentinels. With the strong performance, EG completed another dream run, coming back from the 2-10 deficit, winning over one of the best teams in the Americas.
Evil Geniuses will next face NRG for playoff contention and championship points. Tomorrow, at VCT Americas Superweek, G2 Esports will take on Leviatan and KRU Esports takes on LOUD.
Featured Image Credits: Photo by Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games
