Evil Geniuses at a crossroads after SumaiL’s departure

Syed Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan has left Evil Geniuses, according to the Dota 2 Majors registration page. This marks the third desertion in EG’s lineup, after Clinton “Fear” Loomis and Ludwig “zai” Wåhlberg were released, on August 27th. The former International title-holder is now down to two players: Saahil “UNiVeRsE” Arora and captain Peter “ppd” Dager.

Teams have until September 4th to release players from their current rosters in preparation for the upcoming season. New players can then be added to the roster between September 4th-18th. The rosters will become locked on September 18th, at 12:00AM PDT.

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With three of their players decamping in the last two days, Evil Geniuses are at a turning point.

Syed Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan was discovered by the North American organization almost two years ago, when he was 15. Dubbed “the Dota 2 prodigy”, the mid-laner has competed in two International championships with EG, placing top three in both. Last year, SumaiL became the youngest champion in the history of The International, earning a pay-check of $1.3 million. He was only 16 years old at that time.

SumaiL’s future status remains unknown for the time being.

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Ludwig “zai” Wåhlberg was released from EG’s roster, hours after Clinton “Fear” Loomis was let go from the team, on August 27th.

All the recent roster changes appeared on the Dota 2 Majors registration database and have not been followed up by any official clarification as of yet. EG have until September 18th to try out players and finalize their roster for the upcoming season.

Players who left a roster or were released from one can still be added back during the second phase of the registration process. For the 2016 Fall Major, Valve has implemented a two-step registration process, including a “drop phase” and an “add phase”. Players can leave or be released until September 4th. Any players still remaining on the roster after that date are automatically locked into the team. New players can then be added to the roster between September 4th-18th. The rosters will become locked on September 18th, at 12:00AM PDT.

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SumaiL, the youngest champion in the history of The International

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At an age when most children are playing hopscotch and learning how to read and write, Syed Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan was already toying with dreams of a competitive gaming career. In Pakistan – where he lived for almost his entire life, gaming resources were not as readily available. He didn’t have his own computer so, in order to be able to go to the Internet Café and play, SumaiL, his cousin and other friends would often pile up on a small motorbike built for only one person. He even had to sell his bicycle once, to keep his dream alive. The young Pakistani player shared his inspiring life story, in his TI5 player profile.

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SumaiL Evil Geniuses TI5 player profile

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Syed Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan first made a name for himself in 2014, when he was playing in the North American Elite League (NEL). After a short period of time playing for various lesser-known teams, his talent and drive to excel landed him the opportunity of a lifetime, when he was recruited by North American team Evil Geniuses, almost two years ago, when he was 15.

Immediately upon joining, Evil Geniuses placed third in the Dota 2 League Season 5. However, SumaiL’s real debut would be at the Dota 2 Asia Championship (DAC), often dubbed “The International of the East”.

SumaiL and his team won the championship title and a prize of over $1,200,000 – an incredible achievement for any Dota 2 professional player, let alone one as young and inexperienced as SumaiL.

Evil Geniuses went on to take top placements in numerous premier tournaments. Their glorious season’s run culminated with a well-deserved direct invite to the most prestigious Dota 2 championship in the world, The International.

In August 2015, Evil Geniuses managed to turn the odds to their favor and claim the coveted TI5 Aegis of Champions and $6.6 million in prize money, thus becoming the first American team to win The International. Only 16 years old at that time, SumaiL became the youngest champion in the history of The International, earning a pay-check of $1.3 million.

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EG’s intempestive roster changes and their road from Open Qualifiers to TI podium

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Evil Geniuses at The International 6 © Valve

In August 2015, Evil Geniuses claimed the coveted TI5 Aegis of Champions and $6.6 million in prize money, thus becoming the first American team to win The International.

In a shocking move almost immediately following their historic TI5 championship win, Evil Geniuses removed Kurtis “Aui_2000” Ling from the lineup. Welcoming back Artour “Arteezy” Babaev, they then shifted Clinton “Fear” Loomis to the support role.

Despite the fact that they started off the fall season on the wrong foot, being eliminated in the very first round of the ESL One New York, they went on to take second place at the MLG World Finals and third at the Frankfurt Major and Shanghai Major.

The results were just not good enough, or perhaps the grass was greener on the Team Secret side of the fence. Both Saahil “UNiVeRsE” Arora and Artour “Arteezy” Babaev left the team before the rosters became locked for the next Valve-sponsored event, the Manila Major.

After UNiVeRsE and Arteezy’s unanticipated departure to Team Secret towards the last days of the team registration period, the future of Evil Geniuses seemed uncertain.

EG welcomed back both Kurtis “Aui_2000” Ling and Sam “BuLba” Sosale to the organization, on March 26th.

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The new roster had a shaky start but overall commendable performances in the next three months. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to secure them a decent place at the Manila Major, where they fell into the 13th-16th ranks. Roster changes would strike again.

They put any animosity behind them and brought UNiVeRsE back in. Switching out Kurtis “Aui_2000” Ling once more and welcoming back Ludwig “zai” Wåhlberg after a year off to complete his high-school education, the team was starting to look like a well-oiled machine again.

However, they had forfeited their direct invite for The International following their roster changes – an unprecedented move for a TI title-holder to be taking the open qualifier road. EG had to come back to Seattle the hard way, through the Open Qualifiers and then the Regional ones.

They shined throughout the tournament – both during the Group Stages and the Main Event – and even looked stronger than at The International 5, at times. Evil Geniuses were close to getting their names written on the Aegis of Champions for the second time. Not close enough, though: they fell to Digital Chaos in the Lower Bracket Finals and placed third overall.

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