TSM vs. Evil Geniuses: Mid-Season Showdown betting analysis

The Mid-Season Showdown lower bracket will kick off with a best-of-five between TSM and Evil Geniuses in which the loser will be eliminated. 

After a weekend with games from the upper bracket, it’s time to send the first team home from the Mid-Season Showdown. It will be a contest between TSM and Evil Geniuses, who will fight for their lives in the lower bracket. It’s the first time Evil Geniuses hits Summoner’s Rift since the regular split, while TSM already played against Team Liquid in the upper bracket where they took a loss. 

For TSM it will be a chance to redeem themselves after a disappointing showing against rivals from Team Liquid. TSM ended the regular split as the second seed, so sitting in the lower bracket already isn’t acceptable. TSM showed in the 2020 LCS Summer Split that a miracle run through the lower bracket is possible, but this time it will have to be done with a completely new roster. 

Despite losing to Team Liquid in a 3-1 series, TSM still has some clear strengths that can be shown against Evil Geniuses. TSM has a lot of individual skill and has been very good at controlling fights in the late game. TSM still has struggles in the earlier stages of the game and in the draft, so those will need to be improved against Evil Geniuses. TSM is likely looking to play through the bot lane, where the young Lawrence “Lost” Hui is starting to show why he got a spot on the LCS team. 

In the Evil Geniuses camp, the team has the chance to create an upset and continue on as the dark horse for the trophy. Evil Geniuses finished the regular split in sixth and received the final seed but is still capable of making a surprise run. Evil Geniuses already beat TSM once in the regular season, alongside wins against both Cloud9 and Team Liquid. What Evil Geniuses has needed is consistency, so a best-of-five format is still unknown territory for the team. 

So far, Evil Geniuses’ strongest assets has been top laner Jeong “Impact” Eon-young and jungler Dennis “Svenskeren” Johnsen. The duo is one of the strongest in the league when playing at their best, so TSM should expect a lot of focus towards the top lane. Impact has been popping off on both Renekton and Gnar this split, but also on more niche champions such as Sylas and Shen. If the top and jungle duo can find space on the map, TSM could be in for a bit of a shock. 

TSM vs. Evil Geniuses rosters

TSM roster: 

• Top – Heo “Huni” Seung-hoon
• Jungle – Mingyi “Spica” Lu
• Mid – Tristan “PowerOfEvil” Schrage
• Bot – Lawrence “Lost” Hui
• Support – Hu “SwordArt” Shuo-Chieh

Evil Geniuses roster: 

• Top – Jeong “Impact” Eon-young
• Jungle – Dennis “Svenskeren” Johnsen
• Mid – Daniele “Jiizuke” Mauro
• Bot – Matthew “Deftly” Chen
• Support – Lee “IgNar” Dong-geun

TSM expected to knock Evil Geniuses out of Mid-Season Showdown

Even though TSM didn’t play up to its standards against Team Liquid in the first round of the upper bracket, it’s expected that the teamw will beat Evil Geniuses. TSM is still the more consistent team on paper and is the second seed going into the Mid-Season Showdown. With that said, there’s definitely a chance for Evil Geniuses to create an upset. Evil Geniuses went 1-1 with TSM in the regular split and is able to play up with the best on good days. If Evil Geniuses bring its best game, fans might have an intense series to look forward to. 

A win for TSM gives an odds of 1.56, while a win for Evil Geniuses is a bit higher at 2.27. 

The match between TSM and Evil Geniuses kicks off on March 27.