Very few esports teams can boast the incredible history that Evil Geniuses can. This is one of the only current esports teams that is still operating having been formed way back in the 1990s. So, who are Evil Geniuses? Which esports stars have represented the brand and why is it such a popular team?
A Huge Brand in Esports
Having been set up way back in 1999, the team has competed at high-end tournaments in a variety of different sports. In fact, players representing the team have hit the heights in virtually every single major title. The company started with the early esports title Quake, before moving into other gaming scenes including League of Legends, VALORANT, Dota 2, Overwatch, Fortnite, and more…
Partners
One of the things that help to keep an esports team like this successfully running is a network of partners. This is also a sign of the huge impact esports teams have. The huge number of fans that esports teams have means it makes a lot of sense for companies to get involved via sponsorship. The Evil Geniuses YouTube channel has over 100,000 subscribers, and their Instagram channel has over 200,000. This has led to some high-profile partners.
One of the most recent partnership deals signed by Evil Geniuses was one with the cryptocurrency betting platform Thunderpick. The gambling site has become Marquee Partner for Evil Genius and their CS: GO teams including EG Blue, EG Black, and EG Gold.
These sorts of partnerships are mutually beneficial, and in the statement that was released, the two companies promised that they would give fans the chance to meet players, buy branded merchandise or even see exclusive content. To learn more about esports, players can click here to place your esports bet or check streaming events, including esports with EG competing. If you watch CS: GO events with the EG team playing, you may well notice the Thunderpick logo emblazoned on the front of their shirts.
The partnership between these brands makes a lot of sense, and there is a lot of crossover in the demographics of people who gamble using cryptocurrency, and those who watch esports. In the US, according to ResearchGate, 46% of esports fans are 18-26, and according to Forbes, 31% of people ages 18 to 29 have used cryptocurrency.
Other Evil Geniuses partners include tech giants Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and Wolverhampton Wanderers football team, who currently compete in the English Premier League. Wolverhampton Wanderers (Wolves as the team is known to most) are watched by millions on coverage of the Premier League and their exposure is increased by the deal they have with Evil Geniuses.
Stars (and Former Stars) of Evil Geniuses
Esports teams need to boss their recruitment if they are going to be successful. Over the years, there have been some big names involved in the company.
Up until 2012, Jordan Gilbert, who goes by the gaming alias n0thing, represented EG in Counter-Strike (1.6 as it was then). He was nominated for numerous awards including eSports Player of the Year in both 2008 and 2009, and though he eventually left the company he was a star of his time. He’s immensely popular with over 400,000 followers on YouTube. Due to his stardom, he was interviewed by Joe Rogan for his podcast.
In 2019 the team bought the whole of the NRG roster which saw some huge names join the team as EG would go on to win numerous CS: GO tournaments. The likes of Tarik would represent EG, and he went on to win around $800,000 in his career, much of it while playing for other teams.
The Evil Geniuses Dota team is currently made up exclusively of South American players, with the likes of Chris Luck and Pandaboo playing in Dota 2 tournaments representing the brand. Both of these are relatively new signings, joining in 2022.
The Evil Genius teams have a wide variety of different young players that they will be hoping become stars. The current approach seems to be nurturing the next generation of talent. For instance, the current Valorant roster is full of some young names and inexperienced players such as Boostio and ScrewFace, who are new to the scene.
EG also runs something called the Creator Collective. This helps to spread the word about the brand, as they have partnered with athletes, industry stars, and even content creators.
Conclusion
In 2023, EG continues to compete at a high level in many different esports. The team is seen as the underdog in a lot of competitions due to the fact that EG has young and fresh rosters, but their stars have proven they can compete. For instance, in the BLAST Premier Spring group stage of 2023, the team managed to beat Heroic, the top seed, in the CS: GO division. Proof that the future could be bright at Evil Geniuses.
