Evil Geniuses to cease operations
Evil Geniuses has begun to wind down its operations ahead of a November 2 closure, CEO Chris DeAppolonio has announced. "Esports continues to face significant headwinds, including limited sponsorship and the rising cost of competing at the top level," DeAppolonio said.
HLTV21 Oct 2026 · 1 min read
The team left CS in 2012, and it was not until the brand was acquired by PEAK6 seven years later that EG re-entered CS by signing the NRG lineup, then ranked number four in the world.
That squad went on to win ESL New York 2019 and StarSeries Season 8, and reach number one on the HLTV ranking during the pandemic in September 2020.
Read more Evil Geniuses return to Counter-Strike with signing of NRG roster In the following years, Evil Geniuses would lose Ethan "Ethan" Arnold to VALORANT and fail to replicate that success. They fell out of the top 30 in September 2021.
The organization launched 'Blueprint' in 2022 as a way to revive their fortunes, but the 15-man roster did not improve results and perception of the brand was hampered.
CEO Nicole LaPointe Jameson departed in 2023, before the team left Counter-Strike for a second time in January 2024 under DeAppolonio.
