In Part 1 of our journey into the life and times of Syed Sumail "SumaiL" Hassan, we were mostly focused on his personal life and early career. In this part, we will take a look at his achievements as a professional esports athlete. If you want to find out how many big events did Syed won, do not miss out on this piece.
SumaiL in Evil Geniuses
As mentioned in the first part, SumaiL did not have a lot of time to compete against low tier opponents. It did not take him long to adapt to the highest level of competition in Dota 2.
2015
After dominating everyone in the Dota 2 Asia Championship (also called mini TI), Syed became the youngest esports millionaire. This victory propelled Evil Geniuses to the first ever The International trophy. Sadly for them, the 2015 edition of the biggest esports tournament "only" had a $6,6-million prize pool.
There was no denying that EG had an excellent year behind them. However, they wanted to win the last two big events of the year, The Frankfurt Major 2015 and The Summit 4. Despite hard trying, SumaiL and co. finished 3rd in Germany. They bounced back 2 weeks later, though as they edged out Virtus.pro in the grand final of The Summit 4.
SumaiL’s trophies in 2015:
- Dota 2 Asia Championships 2015
- Dota Pit League Season 3
- The International 2015
- The Summit 4
2016
Truth be told, Evil Geniuses did not have the best start to 2016. Second place at StarLadder i-League StarSeries Season 1 was not something the North American esports franchise was looking to achieve.
On top of that, 3rd place at The Shanghai Major 2016 also did not help their cause of becoming the best Dota 2 team ever. EPICENTER 2016 did not go according to plan either as they grabbed only the 5th spot.
The Manilla Major 2016 was probably the worst event for Evil Geniuses. They choked hard and they were amongst the first teams to be eliminated from the tournament. After all of the awful results we mentioned, it was time for EG to battle for the Aegis.
In all honesty, no one expected SumaiL and his team to do much, but they proved everyone wrong. Despite not winning The International 2016, EG placed third which was more than enough for them to net over $2 million in prize money.
Given the circumstances, no one considered Evil Geniuses as favorites in the events they competed in. Victory in Mars Dota 2 League 2016 Autumn did not help. The second major in 2016 was among the last LAN events and EG placed 3rd-4th.
2017
Clearly, it was time to shake things up. Unlike 2016, SumaiL started the year with a bang. Evil Geniuses were able to win Dota Pit League Season 5. This propelled them to a decent finish at The Kiev Major 2017. Keep in mind that the competition here was fierce and EG were still able to place 3rd-4th.
After the first Dota 2 Major in 2017, SumaiLperformed really well at The Manilla Masters. He carried his team to a LAN victory and netted an additional $125,000 in prize money.
EG also looked quite good throughout EPICENTER 2017. However, they did not show up in the grand final as they were battered by Team Liquid.
The International 2017 took place only a month after the EPICENTER 2017. After a solid showing, EG and SumaiL fans started to get their hopes up. However, the entire roster was nowhere to be found on the map and they were among the first teams to pack their bags once again.
Poor results were mounting as both ESL One Hamburg 2017 and DOTA Summit 8 did not go according to plan.
2018
There was no denying that roster changes were imminent. However, this did not help SumaiL find his rhythm. The 5th-6th placement at ESL One Katowice 2018 spelled disaster. On top of that, The Bucharest Major was not something to be proud of either.
After a series of poor results, however, SumaiL played his heart out in The International 2018. He is the main reason why Evil Geniuses were able to claim the 3rd place in Vancouver.
2019
This turned out to be a do-or-die moment for Syed. The Chongqing Major did not fail to amaze. However, 3rd place was not what Evil Geniuses wanted, yet they kept getting it. Awful showings throughout the entire 2019 continued.
After placing 5th at The International 2019, SumaiLdecided to part ways with Evil Geniuses and look for his happiness elsewhere. After playing with various regional teams, early in 2020, he landed a gig with OG.
Due to the COVID-19 situation, most Dota 2 tournaments were canceled and we are yet to see how SumaiL would perform with OG. All in all, he is one of the best Dota 2 players due to his aggressive playstyle and individual skill. The only reason why EG won most of their accolades was because of Syed. Hopefully, he can bring OG back to the same path. His story is far from over.
Are you interested in learning about SumaiL's new team? Check out our pieces on OG here:
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