Road to Bucharest — Evil Geniuses
Yuriy SheremetKeepin on travelling to the capital of Romania where the most long-awaited event of the year is going to take place. And our today’s company is, as usual, very representative.
The kings of North America and one of the most elite clubs in the world is about to make history at The International 10. This is Evil Geniuses’ road to Bucharest.
Team’s portfolio
Before we dive into the eventful history of the club, let’s glance at how EG made it to the main tournament of the year. They did it steadily and boldly, which definitely matches their style.
- Date of foundation of the club: 24 October 2011;
- Roster at The International: Arteezy, Abed, iceiceice, Cr1t-, Fly, BuLba (coach);
- Region: North America;
- How they passed to The International: first place in the DPC rating
- Main achievements: third place at The International 14, first place at Dota 2 Asia Championship 2015, first place at The International 15, third place at The International 16, third place at The International 2018.
We have covered the highlights and now we are getting down to a more thorough examination.
First appearance
The first time EG appeared on the expanses of the competitive Dota-2 stage was in October 2011. After the excitement at The International 2011, most clubs decided to join the discipline and EG was not an exception.
The first attempts in Dota 2 were far from perfect. The debut year was pretty humble by the standards of 2011.
EG took third place at one of the main championships of those years, The Defense Season 1, finished in TOP-4 at DreamHack Summer 2012, and also repeated the success of the first season of The Defense finishing fourth at The Defense Season 2.
EG got in momentum fast but still they had a long way to go towards the powers of today’s Evil Geniuses. Anyway, their performance resulted in a direct ticket to The International 2.
The International 2012 welcomed EG represented by Fear, BuLba, DeMoN, Maelk, UNiVeRsE. Of course, EG could not reach the top places of the event in 2012, so the North American players got 9th-12th position in Seattle.
EG spent the following year building up team synergy and searching for an optimal roster to satisfy big ambitions of the club. They almost did it in 2014.
The International 2014
In 2014 EG welcomed a couple of strong promising support players – ppd and zai. Big amount of attention came to young and hungry Arteezy who joined EG. The roster was completed by vets UNiVeRsE and Fear.
EG’s goal remained the same – Aegis of Champions and a victory at The International 2014. Evil Geniuses were moving towards the goal by leaps and bounds.
They won Monster Energy Invitational, MLG T.K.O America, JoinDOTA League Season 1 America, The Summit, HyperX D2L Western Challenge and finished second at ESL One Frankfurt 2014. EG entered the TI4 fully-armored but an unfortunate event came into the picture.
Fear, the leader and face of EG, had to take the coach position as he had a hand injury. His spot was taken by mason, a poorly known player from the USA.
It was a major setback to EG’s shape but Evil Geniuses were not going to give up. The International 2014 proved it.
The team took second place at the group stage providing themselves with a pass to the upper bracket of the playoff. The main event started confidently for EG: they beat DK 2-0.
The first problems appeared at the minor final of TI 4 when EG were crushed by Newbee. EG moved to the upper bracket where they had to play DK again.
The revenge did not happen and again EG defeated DK 2-0, so the Chinese players headed for home. Yet, they did not stay long at the tournament and in the next round the gamers lost 1-2 to Vici and left the event.
They made it to third place at TI which was the best result for the region. Evil Geniuses were not pleased with the scenario.
Triumph year and SumaiL’s birth
In 2015 EG lost zai and Arteezy. The players had to be urgently replaced.
The spots of the former players were taken by aui_2000, a player that had been sprinkling on the professional stage, and an unknown esportsman called SumaIL. Few would suppose how many changes the reshuffle would make to the future of the club.
The first event for EG with the renewed roster was Dota 2 Asia Champions 2015 which matches current majors. What could be expected from EG with Fear and SumaiL? Startling victory.
At the group stage EG showed what they were capable of. Finishing their performance in the first stage with the score 11-4, EG proceeded to the upper bracket.
Their first opponent was NaVi who were offering battle but were unable to blunt EG’s attack. The next defeated team was Big God who scared everyone away with their name only.
EG were moving fast and it was impossible to stop them. In the final of the upper bracket they vanquished Vici Gaming 2-0, and later they repeated their success at the grand final with a more lopsided score.
The high point of the year was The International 2015. That time EG reached it as the main favourites and they made it clear from the very beginning that they were not going home without Aegis.
At the group stage EG did not lose any map finishing it with 3-4-0. In the playoffs the situation had improved.
In the first round EG crashes Complexity Gaming. Then they sent EHOME down to the lower bracket.
At the upper bracket EG suddenly lost to an underdog called CDEC. The fairy tale seemed to be over but Evil Geniuses had another opinion.
In the final of the lower bracket they dealt with LGD Gaming and at the grand final they beat the leader. The result of EG’s performance at TI was a startling victory 3-1 which turned Evil Geniuses into new champions and one of the most famous highlights in Dota 2 done by UNiVeRsE.
The 16-year-old Pakistani together with Dota-2 veterans Fear and UNiVeRsE, and also the best captain in the world at that time ppd and the stable aui_200 raised Aegis over their head. Evil Geniuses were the first and only winners of The International not from Europe or China.
TI 2015 was a triumph of the North American Dota and wrote down EG in the Dota 2 fame book.
Local scandal and a second run for championship in 2016
The victory at The International 2015 not only gave general recognition and love of the audience, but also unsealed the dark nature of Evil Geniuses. Right after TI aui_2000 left the team.
It appeared that the Canadian did not get on well with the other teammates. With those who he had won the final of The International 2015 a month before.
Individual features are individual and EG’s skills to play Dota 2 did not disappear. They demonstrated agility in 2016.
Then EG took third place at The Shanghai Major 2016, 5th-6th at EPICENTER 2016 and 13th-16th place at The Manila Major 2016. Their performance at the major in Manila did not let EG make it to The International 6 directly. But it did not bewilder Evil Geniuses.
They won the qualifiers and proceeded to defend their title in Seattle. But they were not destined to do it, as it was the time to shine for Wings.
EG stopped at the third place which was a worthy result. They will repeat this result in the future.
Season 2018-2019
The next important period in the history of Evil Geniuses was addition to the team in May 2018 by Fly and s4. This is one of the darkest events in Dota-2 history which we will perhaps remember next time.
In May 2018 EG’s roster was made up by Arteezy, SumaiL, s4, Cr1t- and Fly. The esportsmen took second place at the North American qualifiers and made it to The International 2018.
Having gathered strong and experienced players under wing, EG deserved to be called one of the main favourites in Canada. But they were unable to do it due to universal fairness and OG.
EG’s pressure was offset by OG who beat them in the second round of the upper bracket of the playoff, and later PSG.LGD defeated EG in the final of the lower bracket. EG finished third.
In the next season EG again entered The International 9 as one of the main favourites. This time they were unable to deliver upon the expectations.
In the second round of the upper bracket of the playoff EG again got beaten by OG, and then they lost the third round of the lower bracket to Team Liquid. At The International 2019 EG took 5th-6th place, which would be considered a good result if EG were not EG.
COVID-19 pandemic and a pass to The International 2021
In 2020 the world was hit by Covid-19 pandemic. EG appeared to be closed inside the American region which provided them with nothing but boredom.
EG spent almost the whole 2020 EG in anabiosis. They played at several local events but it was far from what we usually expect from Evil Geniuses. Besides, SumaiL left the team. The player had been holding the position of a headliner of EG for a long time. Fortunately, the club found a good replacement - Abed.
Evil Geniuses recovered from their hibernation only in 2021 when Valve announced a new DPC season and major events returned. EG were looking forward to it.
Having replaced Ramzes666 by iceiceice, Evil Geniuses got back into their shape fast and took first place in the first DPC season in the North American league. At the first major of the season EG stopped one step away from the victory losing a match against IG with the score of 2-0.
In the second DPC season EG took second place in the home league which led them to a trip to Kyiv. At WePlay AniMajor EG again made it to the grand final but again were unable to beat the Chinese players: PSG.LGD vanquished Evil Geniuses 3-0.
There was no problem for EG to get to The International 10. The team got first place in the overall standings finishing the season with 1700 DPC points.
Here we should put a mark of omission to the history of EG. Let’s see how the eternal favourites will perform at The International 10.
See you later on EGamersWorld.
Yuriy Sheremet – Expert in mobile gaming and esports among shooters and MOBA games.
At EGamersWorld, Yuriy, as in 2020 when he joined the portal, works with content, albeit with adjustments to his area of responsibility.