Evil Genius have announced that star AD carry Kyle “Danny” Sakamaki will not be competing at the 2022 LCS Championship finals in order to focus on his mental health.
With this announcement, it can be said that the talented star is taking a step back from the game.
This announcement by EG is following a hard-fought five-game series against Team Liquid this past weekend.
The organization’s CEO, Nicole LaPointe, in a statement, said that it took the 18-year-old “a great deal of courage and self-awareness” to take a step back from play, especially because he cares so much for his teammates and the situation at hand.
While noting that the team understands and supports his decision through and through, she said they will offer him the necessary support.
Danny played a huge role in EG’s rise to the top over the past year. Being an integral part of the ream, the star earned himself the moniker of “King of Pentakills” title after exploding onto the competitive scene as one of the youngest and most exciting members of the roster.
Being such a young player, it can be tough to deal with the pressures of professional play, especially when so many expectations are placed on one’s shoulders so early into their career.
Danny had, over the course of the 2022 LCS Summer Split, forged a path at the apex by becoming the best-performing marksman in the league with a leading 88 kills and a 7.5 KDA.
The data released by League stats aggregate Oracle’s Elixir shows that he consistently took over the mid-to-late game with his perfect teamfight positioning and pristine mechanics.
Since it is a team sport, Danny, alongside Vulcan blossomed into a star movement. This is due to his fearless style of play that made him become a front-facing figure for the growing youth movement in the region.
Despite the mental health challenge, Danny had produced stellar performance through the playoffs so far. He already has nine more deaths than he had during the regular season in four fewer games played.
However, in a lackluster performance against Liquid, he racked up 11 deaths through bad positioning and decision-making.
Written by Oladipupo Mojeed
