After 100 Thieves lost in a 0-3 sweep to Evil Geniuses in the lower bracket of the 2020 LCS Summer Split Playoffs, many fans and analysts were quick to criticize the performance of the team’s young players.
Users across social media pointed to 100 Thieves’ newest editions, Tommy “Ryoma” Le and Philippe “Poome” Lavoie-Giguere, as pivotal reasons for why the team left the playoffs in the first round.
While neither play performed particularly well, there did also seem to be other reasons for the team’s early exit. Despite this, many fans were harsh in their criticisms of the rookie pair. The two most notable posts were made regarding Ryoma’s seeming inability to hit a single skillshot on an enemy super minion, and Mark “MarkZ” Zimmerman, an analyst on the LCS desk, pointing out Poome’s terrible series KDA of 3/23/6.
#LCS pic.twitter.com/Pw5IZcv6GZ
— C9 Mateus (@portilho) August 16, 2020
After the dust had settled from the series loss, 100 Thieves general manager Chris “PapaSmithy” Smith took time to address some of the criticism on Twitter. He pointed out that this was Poome’s first professional playoff series ever, following the rookie’s meteoric rise from 100 Thieves’ ameteur team to the organization’s LCS squad over the course of one season.
He also said that fans should give his player a break considering Poome is expected to play in the league for years to come, though not everyone saw that as valid reason to deflect all criticism from the support player.
Poome not having a series to remember in his first ever best of 5 is not something you get to weaponize – This is a player who will be a support rock in the LCS for years to come, so give a young talented player a break for fuck’s sake
— Chris Smith (@PapaSmithy) August 17, 2020
Ryoma is no stranger to criticism. The Australian just finished his first season in the LCS and entered the league this spring with disapproval from many fans regarding his starting spot. Many pointed their ire at Ryoma because they felt that he should not have been given the starting role while other more established domestic players had not yet received a starting position in the league.
Poome, on the other hand, has received more praise than condemnation since he stepped in as the team’s starting support in week four of the 2020 LCS Summer Split. Analysts normally point to his poise in high-level competition despite his inexperience, rather than pointing out his mistakes.
MarkZ did come back and apologize for his tweet, explaining how hard it is for new professional players to come in during the middle of a split and learn how to play from behind. He went on to say that he has always put an asterisk on his analysis of Poome because of his quick rise through the competitive circuit and that his previous tweet was intended as more of a joke.
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