LCS fans might be reeling after the plethora of roster changes that have occurred across the league, but here’s another, courtesy of Evil Geniuses.
EG announced today plans to move Academy jungler Contractz into the starting lineup for their match on Saturday against TSM. This time, however, this switch doesn’t seem to be cause for alarm—EG’s head coach Peter Dun said that the coaching staff wants to give Contractz a shot on the main stage after performing so well in the 2021 Proving Grounds, as well as putting up some impressive games in the Academy scene. Dun also said that Svenskeren will still be the team’s starting jungler for the 2021 Summer Split.
During this Summer Split, Contractz has been one of the best junglers in Academy so far. He currently has the second-most kills and assists in his role, with the highest kill participation percentage in the league, according to Oracle’s Elixir. Back at the 2021 Spring Proving Grounds, he was the best jungler at the tournament, leading his peers in kills and damage numbers. The 21-year old has helped the team rise up into fourth place this split, with five weeks left in the season to go.
Meanwhile, Svenskeren hasn’t been looking too dominant through the summer. He currently has the second-lowest KDA among LCS junglers, with 22 kills and 35 deaths—the fifth-most in the league. Although he has a relatively high average damage to champions per minute, according to Oracle’s Elixir, he has one of the lowest kill participation percentages in his role.
Even still, Svenskeren’s veteran presence and experience as a pro is still valuable to Evil Geniuses, both on and off the Summoner’s Rift, which is why he isn’t being completely replaced on the team. The 25-year old will be re-joining the roster for the team’s match on Sunday against Team Dignitas. It’ll be interesting to see if these changes can help Evil Geniuses maintain their trajectory towards the top—the team has won four of its last seven games, sporting its most recent loss against Team Liquid.
Catch Contractz’s first LCS match of 2021 and more when week four of the 2021 LCS Summer Split continues tomorrow at 4pm CT.
