EG Danny: “I relied on possible connections to enter the League of Legends scene.” cover image

EG Danny: “I relied on possible connections to enter the League of Legends scene.”

Evil Geniuses botlaner Danny sat down to discuss his first five weeks in the LCS alongside the parental reception of entering esports.

After a 0-3 start to the 2021 LCS Summer Split, Evil Geniuses are beginning to gain ground in the LCS standings. Now standing at 19 wins, the Evil Geniuses are projecting upward as the Round Robin reaches its halfway point. In the midst of this all stands EG Danny, the rookie botlaner for the team.

In this interview, we spoke to EG Danny to talk about his first five weeks in the LCS as well as some challenges he faced with school and esports.


From a viewer’s standpoint, we saw impressive performances from you this week. Talk to me about your adjustment to the LCS stage?

EG Danny: The first few weeks were rocky as they should be. Nobody should have a really clean and comfortable setting on stage as a rookie so I felt that was normal. As we got into weeks 3, 4 and 5, I feel like I adjusted well to the LCS lifestyle. Being on stage does not make me as nervous as it might be to others. I think I am pretty comfortable on stage right now. I trust my teammates and I feel confident in my own play.

Danny after a win in the 2021 LCS Summer Split.
Danny after a win in the 2021 LCS Summer Split.

I want to talk about this team environment because it seems like a nice environment for you to grow. When you first joined this lineup, what were some of your fears knowing you would play with veteran players like this?

EG Danny: I think it was shocking to be on a roster with a ton of veterans. Obviously, Impact is a really big name because he won the World Championships. All of my other teammates went to worlds before as well. It is definitely interesting to look back and think as a 17 year old rookie that I would be joining this lineup. It was really annoying. Laughs It felt like I needed to show up because there are no excuses with this team. 


You are a really young player. In LCS we do not see many 17 year olds jump into LCS anymore. From your parents perspective, what was the initial reaction when you told them about LCS.

EG Danny: I have been doing this since I was six. I was on the computer everyday and my parents would always have concerns. They would say, people are not supposed to spend that much time on the computer, maybe two to three hours max. 

Danny's teammates Svenskeren and Ignar.
Danny's teammates Svenskeren and Ignar.

When they heard about my esports opportunity, they started to gain interest. Before this, they did not know anything about League of Legends. They only knew a couple of things because of my older brother. Now that I am in the LCS, they are super invested. They are watching my games, the LCS and even MSI. They are onboard with all of this now which makes me happy.


When did esports become a picture in their head. Did this all stem from Evil Geniuses reaching out for you to join EG Prodigies?

EG Danny: It is when I first joined EG Prodigies and I needed to sign a contract about it and explain to them what esports was. I told them I had a really great opportunity for this to develop into a really cool job path. I think that is when it all happened. They did not catch on at first and they were skeptical.

I joined two months after the start of my senior year in November during free agency. They signed a bunch of people from amateur to the team.


Read also:


In high school, it feels like the junior year is extremely important. What were the conversations about your future career like with your parents?

EG Danny: I did not really mention esports to them my junior year. Obviously, the coronavirus was spreading wild and I just wanted to focus on school so I could pass that year. I know, junior year is definitely one of the hardest years of high school. Senior year is actually pretty easy. I was doing well in school. I had good grades and was really happy with my grades. In senior year, I started to fall off because of online school. I did not like the atmosphere being online in Zoom classes. This lead me to focus primarily on League of Legends. Luckily, I got an opportunity to play for Evil Geniuses.

The Evil Geniuses team after a win.
The Evil Geniuses team after a win.

Did you ever play League of Legends when you were in class?

EG Danny: Laughs No, I was not that bad in school. I was still trying to pass all of my classes. I actually almost failed english class during senior year and they were not happy. Not a fan of english. Laughs

What is your favorite subject?

EG Danny: My favorite subject is math. If it was a hard math class, I would still do really well in class.

Did you ever take the SAT’s?

EG Danny: The school had small windows where people could take their SAT. There were designated rooms where people could take it. I didn't really take the SAT. My goal was never to get into college. I applied to some schools, but I did not think about that. I relied on the fact that I might have connections to enter the League of Legends scene. A lot of streamers knew of my name which gave me hope. I am honestly just lucking out.


Talk to me about life after graduating and being able to just focus on League of Legends now?

EG Danny: It feels very weird. When school ended, I felt very lost because I did not have any idea of what to do anymore. I was mainly focusing on school and League of Legends. Aside from those two things, I was just trying to get a good rest, making sure I would eat as well as learning new hobbies. When school finished, that took out so much in my schedule and that left me a lot of free time. I was  really bored and had nothing to do. I was fishing for so many opportunities to do things with teammates, but it is hard. There are not many things to do right now.

I did other stuff and would put a lot of time into social media like twitter and even tik tok. I also tried to find new games to play on steam. Still looking laughs but I feel like my schedule is getting more filled out now. 

Do you have any final words for Evil Geniuses fans and new fans of Danny?

EG Danny: Not really. Laughs I do not have many thoughts off the top of my head.


Stay tuned to Esports.gg for the latest League of Legends news and highlights.

Photos courtesy of espat.ai.