Evil Geniuses to sign former Vitality mid laner Jiizuke

ESPN reported that Evil Geniuses are set to sign former Team Vitality mid laner Daniele “Jiizuke” di Mauro as their starting mid laner ahead of the League of Legends Championship Series 2020 Spring Split. 

Jiizuke lands in the LCS following a sixth place finish in the League of Legends European Championship 2019 Summer Split with Vitality. He joins Immortals’ newly signed Jérémy "Eika" Valdenaire as the second European mid laner to join an LCS team ahead of 2020. 

Since making his professional debut with Vitality in the European League of Legends Championship Series 2018 Spring Split, Jiizuke has never failed to make playoffs. He made his first international appearance at the 2018 World Championship where he and Vitality upset the likes of Royal Never Give Up and Gen.G and finished third in their group. 

Before the signing, ESPN sources say Evil Geniuses was in talks prodigious Griffin mid laner Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon. Talks with former Clutch Gaming mid Tanner “Damonte” Damonte and ex-FlyQuest mid Eugene “Pobelter” Park were reported as well, however Evil Geniuses declined to comment. 

Evil Geniuses returns to the North American League of Legends scene for the first time since 2014 after acquiring Echo Fox’s franchise slot. In a recent interview, CEO Nicole LaPointe Jameson spoke of the organization’s goals to carry over their rivalry with Team Liquid from other esports titles such as DOTA and StarCraft II going into the 2020 season. 

“We’re here to defeat Liquid,” said Jameson. “...We’re coming back, [we’re] coming back strong, and [we’re] excited to be that powerhouse that people once knew us as.”

With the signing of Jiizuke, Evil Geniuses will complete their starting LCS roster which currently consists of top laner Colin “Kumo” Zhao, jungler Dennis “Svenskeren” Johnsen, support Tristan “Zeyzal” Stidam, and AD carry Bae “Bang” Jun-sik. The team will be led by former CLG coach Heo "Irean" Yeong-Cheol.