The prestigious North American based esports Organization Evil Geniuses are falling apart right now. Lawsuits, complaints, and investigations on top of multiple high profile names leaving. Let's take a look at what is going on at Evil Geniuses.
Evil Geniuses is an esports organization founded in 1999 based in Seattle, USA. Starting off as a Quake clan, Evil Geniuses expanded their esports portfolio in the following two decades. They are a household name in the esports industry, winning World Championships in Dota 2, Call of Duty and just recently in Valorant.
But things have been rough for fans of the Evil Geniuses as of recently. The organization has been involved in multiple controversies in the last year alone. As a result, their CEO and their Director of Athletics are stepping down from their positions in Evil Geniuses.
Why Evil Geniuses Is Falling Apart
In the year 2023, there have been multiple stories regarding mistreatment from Evil Geniuses towards their employees. The organization is currently undergoing a lawsuit from a former player, an investigation from Riot Games and financial problems. Here is a rundown of all these things.
Former Dota 2 Player Sues Evil Geniuses For Contract Breaches
Syed “SumaiL” Hassan played for Evil Geniuses' Dota team for more than 5 years and has been one of Dota 2's biggest prodigies. In March 2023, Hassan sued Evil Geniuses. Hassan's complaint is about what happened to his ownership in Evil Geniuses when the Peak6 Capital Group acquired the brand in 2019.
His shares were converted into different types of stock, but he claims that only Peak6 members received preferred stock, which offers better rights like higher dividends and stronger claims to assets in case of a company sale. The lawsuit also says that no one from Peak6 explained these changes during the merger. This, along with other issues, is seen as a “breach of contract” and “fraud and deceit” in the eyes of Hassan and his lawyers.
The lawsuit also talks about Hassan leaving the organization. In 2019, he was offered a mutual release clause to end his contract. The suit argues that this agreement put his ownership stake in EG at risk. They say it had unfair terms and tried to use Hassan's weaker position to make him give up his stock. The lawsuit is still ongoing, with a first jury trial to be held on November 6, according to Richard Lewis.
Riot Games Investigates Evil Geniuses For Failing To Take Care Of Player's Health
The former League of Legends professional Kyle ‘Danny’ Sakamaki stepped down from active play in September 2022. The then 18-year-old suffered from mental and physical health issues. Danny is on the autistic spectrum, and he can't resist stress as well as others. This all kicked off when Danny returned home to his family, where they sent him to a doctor for malnutrition. Later on, sources told Dexerto, that the organization knew about his bad mental and physical state but didn't care enough to help him.
In the following weeks, leaks surfaced, that Riot Games were starting an investigation on the matter. This investigation seems to be still ongoing, as LoL-journalist arsh confirmed in a tweet. Meanwhile, Danny made the switch to being a full-time streamer, having recovered from his health issues. He is still bound with Evil Geniuses as a Content Creator.
Evil Geniuses' CEO Nicole LaPointe Jameson Is Stepping Down
Hailing from Evil Geniuses owners Peak6, Nicole LaPointe Jameson took over the role as Chief Executive Officer of Evil Genius in May 2021. Just a few days after EG won Valorant Champions, she announced her departure as a CEO in a Tweet on the Evil Geniuses Twitter account:
— Evil Geniuses (@EvilGeniuses) August 31, 2023
In an interview with Digiday she stated, that her departure had nothing to do with the situation regarding Danny. Chris DeAppolonio, the former Chief Innovation Officer of EG, will take the role of a CEO as an interim. Jameson will still remain at Evil Geniuses still having equity in the company.
Evil Geniuses Forces Their Valorant Roster Into A Salary-Cut
Yes, the Valorant roster that just won the World Championship. The players were told, that their salaries would be cut by almost 50% and that they can look out for options. Meanwhile, it seems like EG wants to keep their players, since they won't let the players leave the org on a free. Interested teams need to pay a buyout for each player. If the players aren't agreeing to the salary-cut, Evil Geniuses could terminate their contracts with immediate effect.
Evil Geniuses Director of Athletics Andrew Barton Is About To Leave
And one more personnel change. According to sources close to Richard Lewis, the Director of Athletics is resigning from his position in Evil Geniuses. He joined EG in late 2019 as a coach for their League of Legends team. He later on got promoted as Director of Athletics overviewing the LoL, Dota 2 and Valorant squads. At the time, the LoL team won an LCS Split and the Valorant team was picking up more and more wins.
Now, their Dota 2 team failed in the group stage of the last major, they dropped their Valorant reserve roster and coach and are proposing a hefty pay-cut for the rest of the team, and they are still rumored to sell their LCS slot. Following this, Andrew Barton seems to be leaving the sinking ship, becoming the new General Manager at League of Legends-rival FlyQuest, according to Lewis.
To conclude: Evil Geniuses have lost two of their high-profiled staff members, are being sued by a former player, investigated by Riot Games, having troubles paying their major-winning Valorant team and rumored to sell their slot in the League of Legends Championship Series. All of this in a time, where some of the biggest esports organizations are struggling to find financial stability.
All of this shines a bad light on Evil Geniuses. This year alone, the org fought through multiple image-damaging situations, leaving more and more scars and bruises on them. We could see Evil Geniuses' collapse just before their 25-year anniversary as an esports organization.