27 Years of History, Four Major Titles, and a VCT Exit: Evil Geniuses Officially Shuts Down on November 2
One of the oldest and most decorated banners in competitive gaming history is shutting its doors for good. Founded in 1999 in Victoria, Canada, by Alexander Garfield, North American esports powerhouse Evil Geniuses (EG) has officially announced that it will cease all competitive and day-to-day operations effective November 2, 2026. After twenty-seven years at the pinnacle of international competition, the iconic organization is winding down at the conclusion of the current season.
Operations End on November 2 Following VCT Americas Partnership Exit
The decision was confirmed in an official statement released by Evil Geniuses CEO Chris DeAppolonio. In the announcement, leadership pointed to relentless economic headwinds across the broader esports industry: shrinking sponsorship budgets, tighter investment capital, and the escalating costs required to field championship-caliber rosters. According to DeAppolonio, those market realities made it impossible to continue operating the organization responsibly.
While the club had been scaling back for nearly three years, the final blow came from Riot Games and its structural overhaul of the VALORANT Champions Tour. In cutting the VCT 2027-2028 partner lineup from 40 teams down to 32 globally (eight partnered organizations per international league instead of ten), Riot opted not to renew Evil Geniuses in VCT Americas.
Stripped of its final remaining franchise slot and the vital digital revenue generated by VCT team capsules, management outlined an orderly shutdown schedule:
- Immediate permission to negotiate: all contracted players, coaches, and staff members were immediately granted freedom to speak with other organizations ahead of the 2027 cycle.
- Official free agency on November 2: Valorant players and coaching staff are cleared to formally sign with new teams starting November 2, 2026, coinciding with the expiration of the 2026 season partnership agreements and the final day of operations for Evil Geniuses.
From The International 2015 to VALORANT Champions 2023: A 27-Year Legacy
Long before its financial contraction, Evil Geniuses stood for more than two decades as North America's premier esports institution. From its grassroots beginnings in Quake and Counter-Strike in 1999 to its golden era in StarCraft II (featuring legends such as IdrA, HuK, and Jaedong) and fighting games (Justin Wong, Ricki Ortiz, SonicFox), the organization captured some of the most prestigious trophies in gaming history:
- The International 2015 (Dota 2): in August 2015 in Seattle, the five-man roster of Peter "ppd" Dager, Clinton "Fear" Loomis, Saahil "Universe" Arora, Kurtis "Aui 2000" Ling, and sixteen-year-old prodigy Syed "SumaiL" Hassan delivered North America its only Aegis of Champions, taking home over $6.6 million.
- Call of Duty World League Championship 2018: led by veteran captain Patrick "ACHES" Price and finals MVP Adam "Assault" Garcia, EG claimed the world championship ring in Columbus.
- LCS Spring 2022 (League of Legends): after returning to North America's top flight in 2020, EG swept the Spring 2022 finals in Houston behind homegrown stars Joseph "jojopyun" Pyun and Kyle "Danny" Sakamaki alongside Impact, Inspired, and Vulcan.
- VALORANT Champions 2023: in August 2023 at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, head coach Christine "potter" Chi guided Boostio, Demon1, jawgemo, Ethan, and C0M to a historic 3-1 grand final victory over Paper Rex to lift the world title.
The Peak6 Investments Era: Years of Controversies and Gradual Dismantling
The modern trajectory of Evil Geniuses shifted dramatically in May 2019 when Chicago-based investment firm Peak6 Investments acquired the organization. After several years of aggressive and costly expansion, 2023 marked a stark breaking point between the club's competitive triumphs and its executive management.
Reeling from public backlash over its handling of young LCS star Kyle "Danny" Sakamaki and a bitter contract dispute with its championship-winning Valorant roster in late 2023, ownership initiated a sweeping retreat. Within months in late 2023, Evil Geniuses exited the LCS in League of Legends, dropped its South American Dota 2 squad, and shut down its entire Counter-Strike 2 and fighting game divisions.
Since early 2024, the organization had operated almost exclusively around its partnered slot in VCT Americas. Once Riot Games elected not to keep the club in its 32-team partner ecosystem for 2027, there was no remaining competitive foundation to keep the company alive.
My Take
Watching a twenty-seven-year-old banner vanish stings for anyone who grew up staying up late for StarCraft II broadcasts, watching SumaiL take over The International 2015, or witnessing potter and her squad pull off a miracle run at the Kia Forum in 2023. Still, let us call it what it is: the real Evil Geniuses died at the end of 2023.
Coming shortly after Complexity Gaming shut down after 23 years of history, this closure is the ultimate indictment of the private-equity era that swept through North American esports in the late 2010s. After acquiring EG in 2019, Peak6 Investments burned millions on bloated multi-team projects in Counter-Strike and League of Legends, only to panic when the market cooled and gut the entire organization overnight. When an esports club wins the Valorant world championship and responds three months later by breaking up its title-winning roster and abandoning four major esports titles just to coast on Riot Games partner stipends, it is already on borrowed time. The moment Riot closed the door on VCT 2027, the plug was officially pulled.
SEO consultant for over 20 years and digital entrepreneur, Charles 'Grimtag' Ronchain is the founder of Pro-Gamer.gg, Retrocharting.com, and Gamescharting.com. A competitive gamer, streamer, and retro game collector, he has worked in the video game industry for over 15 years, notably as a consultant for leading game price comparison platforms. Passionate about real-time performance data and gaming technology, he analyzes competitive esports, gaming hardware benchmarks, and creator workflows on Pro-Gamer.gg with an authentic player perspective.
