EG ends with CS direction
Evil Geniuses, an organization that has made history with its performances in both Dota 2 and CS:GO, has now decided to withdraw from competing in these disciplines, and they may be heading towards an even greater disaster. It seems that achieving success in esports is much more challenging than people think, and a series of wrong decisions can lead to a massive financial collapse.
Judging by the team’s results, it’s not surprising that EG has taken this step. We haven’t seen the EG Counter-Strike team achieve anything significant since June 2020. Three and a half years is a long time in this industry.
Typically, when you sign talented players and pay them high salaries, you expect something good to happen each year. In some cases, even a single trophy can delight your fans. But for EG, that hasn’t happened in a long time.
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EG results in 2023
It’s strange that North America is currently one of the weakest regions in the world, both in Counter-Strike and Dota 2. The significant decline that EG has suffered in the region over the past year is a clear indication that the team’s management has made mistakes in their experiments and roster formations.
The Geniuses started the previous CS year with a 21-24th place finish at IEM Katowice. Then they ended up at a completely different depth in the ESL Pro League S17, finishing only in the 28-32nd position. Things got even worse after that, and the team failed to qualify for the Paris Major. In the following IEM Dallas, they once again found themselves among the bottom teams (13-16th place). The next season, ESL Pro League S18, was no exception as they finished in the 21-28th position, marking their final failure at the highest level of competition in the discipline.
Following that, even more absurd results followed, proving that EG no longer has a Tier-1 level Counter-Strike team. Fans were likely hoping that the project would continue and last for at least another year, and the roster would be refreshed with someone like Stewie2K or other more renowned players. However, none of these dreams came true.
As for Jackie Yip himself, around whom the new team was supposed to be built, he seems to be enjoying his career as a streamer, and the feelings about it are mixed. Many of us still remember how good he was in his prime. He is only 26 years old now, and potentially he could have competed for at least another five years. Perhaps if EG terminates his contract, he may have to reconsider his decision. Until then, there is not much hope of seeing him again at the competitive level.
Turning back to EG, it is reported that the organization is also facing significant issues in Riot Games’ discipline, Valorant. Despite the fact that the organization’s roster won the VALORANT Champions 2023 in August of last year, as well as numerous other S-tier events.
Players have complained that they were not allowed to join other organizations and were forced to agree to salary cuts to compensate for EG’s financial difficulties.
After the departure of Evil Geniuses, the pool of BLAST Premier teams will be expanded to 16 teams
There were rumors that BLAST might face difficulties after Evil Geniuses sold their Cloud9 slot. In an effort to address the situation, the organizer is reportedly considering expanding the number of participants in their events. According to HLTV, the new teams will be added as soon as possible, and the decision to expand was made after interest was shown in the EG slot. Reportedly, BLAST hopes to receive a significant amount of money for this slot, with rumors suggesting a minimum of $350,000.
| The richest teams of 2023 | Amount in $ |
| 1st place – FaZe Clan | $2.37 million |
| 2nd place – Team Vitality | $2.02 million |
| 3rd place – G2 Esports | $1.10 million |
| 4th place – Heroic | $777 thousand |
| 5th place – Virtus.pro | $762 thousand |
| 6th place – ENCE | $717 thousand |
| 7th place – Cloud9 | $677 thousand |
| 8th place – MOUZ | $586 thousand |
| 9th place – Natus Vincere | $464 thousand |
| 10th place – Evil Genius | $436 thousand |
Each team that is added to the BLAST Premier participant pool will have a one-year partnership. However, it’s worth noting that in 2025, the system of partner leagues will be completely abolished. Furthermore, the stated cost of the slot seems extremely high for an annual membership that reportedly does not provide revenue sharing.
BLAST Premier is the last prestigious non-Major event in the annual CS:GO circuit that was not acquired by ESL FACEIT Group. If it were to disappear, the only remaining prestigious league-style competition on the calendar would be the ESL Pro League. As for tournaments outside of the Majors, the absence of BLAST events would make series like IEM, especially IEM Katowice and IEM Cologne, the main events in the calendar.
