In the League of Legends, the playoffs are currently taking place. The LoL player Kyle “Danny” Sakamaki (17) creates a lot of excitement with a brilliant play on Tristana. The big streamers on Twitch rave about the rookie, saying he practically won a “1vs9”. One caster calls the 17-year-old “the best rookie the LCS has ever seen”.
Here is the situation: The American Kyle “Danny” Sakamaki is only 17 years old and is playing his first year in the American professional league LCS. He plays for “Evil Geniuses”, a mid-tier team that has made it to the playoffs.
They faced the favored team, 100 Thieves, in a “Best of 5” series. They have been on the winning streak since they were able to recruit the German midlaner Abbedagge.
The play occurs in a “Late Game Teamfight” between EGG and 100 Thieves in round 2 of the LCS playoff series. It’s about qualifying for the LoL Worlds 2021. 100 Thieves are already leading the matches 2-1, so they only need one more win. The match has tipped in favor of 100 Thieves. They are ahead in kills with 16:10. Danny’s team is backed into a corner.
“He’s playing a damn 1vs9!”
This is the play: A 5vs5 teamfight erupts in the mid lane, where Evil Geniuses immediately get at a disadvantage. 2 players from EG die and the rest flee to the base, while the attackers from 100 Thieves pursue them but are also battered.
Even during the retreat, Danny can eliminate three of his opponents on Tristana but loses his last 2 teammates. At the end of the engage:
- Danny is alone
- is on the wrong side of the map
- has about 30% health left
- is facing 2 opponents.
He is actually finished. But through perfect gameplay, Danny can turn the tide, kill the opponents, and turn the match around.
Evil Genius can actually win the match and equalize to 2-2. Danny achieves an impressive 13-3-4 on Tristana.
But game 5 was lost after that and 100 Thieves advance to Worlds 2021.
“The best rookie the LCS has ever had”
This is how the play is commented: Such playoff matches are shown and commented on in parallel by many LoL streamers. Some of the biggest LoL streamers on Twitch observe the play and praise Danny to the highest degree. Even the legendary and notoriously critical ADC Doublelift praises Danny for playing “completely insane” and says: No ADC in the LCS would play like Danny did in that case.
And that comes from someone known for the phrase “Everyone else is trash”.
Other streamers even compare Danny to the legendary ADC Uzi, who was considered a mechanically perfect player but had to retire early due to health issues.
For himself, Danny has chosen the Korean professional “Ruler” as his role model. He looks up to him, he told the site Inven (via inven). He inspired him to become “super good” and to switch from top lane to ADC position.
Apparently, Danny has a great career ahead of him in LoL. The 17-year-old was voted Rookie of the Year in the LCS even though he only played half a season.
One of the casters even called him: “The best rookie in the history of the LCS”.
For Danny, it seems like his career is off to a shining start, while other LoL players have a bumpy road behind them:
LoL: Cursed wunderkind ruins his career, gets kicked from the next team
