Danny Might Not Play For Evil Geniuses In 2023

According to recent reports, star League of Legends ADC Kyle “Danny” Sakamaki, might not play for Evil Geniuses next season. The reports surfaced after the 18-year-old took a break from pro play at the end of the season and missed out on LoL World Championship 2022.

On Monday, October 31, new reports about the 2023 League of Legends season surfaced, suggesting that Evil Geniuses’ star ADC player, Danny, will not be a part of the team next season. Although yet to be confirmed, it seems likely that Danny won’t be a part of EG’s 2023 roster.

The reports came out just weeks after Evil Geniuses’ exit from the League of Legends World Championship 2022, where the team crashed out in the group stage. Notably, Evil Geniuses competed at the LoL Worlds without Danny, who skipped the international tournament due to personal reasons.

Danny joined the North American esports organization in December 2020 when EG signed him to the academy lineup (EG Prodigies) from Zenith Esports. And the young player didn’t need long to prove his worth.

Shortly after joining EG Prodigies, Danny helped the team reach the finals of RCL Season 10 Playoffs and led the team to two titles at UPL 2020 Fall Playoffs and RCL 2021 Winter, as well as to the finals of RCL 2021 Winter Playoffs.

Over the next three months, Danny hasn’t won another title for EG Prodigies, but his individual talent didn’t go unnoticed and earned him a spot in the main lineup in May 2021 when he replaced Matthew “Deftly” Chen.

In his first split with Evil Geniuses LoL Championship Series (LCS) division, Danny has helped the team finish the regular season in third place. Unfortunately, the team failed to capitalize on their momentum and crashed out of the LCS 2021 Championship in fifth-sixth place, thus missing out on LoL Worlds 2021.

But Danny achieved a lot in the next season despite an up-and-down start to his LCS campaign.

Despite his young age, Danny has quickly proven himself as one of the league’s most promising players and has earned the tag as a key player of EG within months of him joining the team. At the start of the 2022 season, Danny helped Evil Geniuses reach the finals of LCS 2022 Lock-In tournament and even enjoyed a solid run in the regular season, in which EG finished in fourth place.

Evil Geniuses carried over the momentum into the LCS 202 Spring Playoffs, which they won with a 3-0 sweep of the defending champions, 100 Thieves. With that, Evil Geniuses won the organization’s first LCS title, largely thanks to Danny and his heroic plays in the playoffs.

By the end of the season, Danny and his crew continue to enjoy immense success. Evil Geniuses finished the 2022 Mid-Season Invitational in the semifinals, won the LCS 2022 Summer regular season, and placed third in the LCS 2022 Championship.

But despite everything Danny has achieved in his first full season in the LCS, he decided to take a step back from the game. Even before Evil Geniuses’exit from the LCS 2022 Championship, Danny announced that he would take a break from pro play and focus on his mental health.

Unfortunately, he extended his break, which meant that Evil Geniuses couldn’t count on Danny to compete at LoL Worlds 2022 with a substitute ADC Hasan “Kaori” Şentürk.

Although EG advanced from the Play-In stage, they flattered in the group stage, ending LoL Worlds with a 1-5 record.

Without Danny on the team, Evil Geniuses couldn’t achieve the plans the team had set for itself for the 2022 season, and it seems like Danny won’t be in the team’s plans in the future.

Although it has yet to be confirmed by Evil Geniuses, sources close to the team unveiled that Danny might not be a part of the EG’s LoL division next season. This brings up many questions, namely whether EG will continue with Kaori as their starting ADC or whether the team will look for a replacement ahead of the season start.