AnDa and 5fire join EG Academy amid struggles to secure visas

With Evil Geniuses struggling to secure visas for Kadircan “Kadir” Mumcuoğlu and Ahmad “Giyuu” Charif, veteran League of Legends player Andy “AnDa” Hoang and rookie Aidan “5fire” Reckamp have joined Evil Geniuses Academy.

AnDa is joining EG Academy as the new jungler, the organization announced on Twitter. This comes as a result of visa issues that are keeping Kadir, a European resident, out of North American competitive play. 5fire will be stepping in Giyuu’s place for the time being.

AnDa signs with EG Academy, 5fire joins as interim mid laner

AnDa most recently competed for 100 Thieves Academy, winning the 2019 NA Academy Summer Playoffs with the team. Unlike Kadir, who has never competed on an LCS stage, AnDa is bringing experience to EG’s academy team. As a member of 100T, he even had an opportunity to perform at the 2018 League of Legends World Championship.

The situation is a bit different for 5fire stepping in place of Giyuu, a Lebanese player. Unlike Kadir, Giyuu still has an opportunity to come to the region, but the visa process keeps getting delayed. While EG and the mid laner continue working towards visa approval, 5fire will be playing on-stage instead.

Neither one of the two players has experience playing in either NA Academy or in the LCS, but have looked strong in domestic leagues, with 5fire also winning the 2019 NA Scouting Grounds.

Can EG improve in the 2020 NA Academy League?

With the 2020 NA Academy League already underway, EG’s roster won’t have any time to practice with each other. This is especially a problem with Giyuu and 5fire, as Giyuu is likely to come back to the roster within a few weeks.

EG Academy played its first two games of the season with Dennis “Svenskeren” Johnsen and Colin “Kumo” Zhao instead of the two players that are in limbo. But even with two LCS players, EG looked weak and lost both academy games. Odds are things won’t improve very much, though this will serve as a good opportunity for AnDa and 5fire to keep themselves sharp and on scouts’ radars.