# Evil Geniuses (1999 – 2026)

- URL: https://girisimcikafasi.com/en/startup-graveyard/evil-geniuses/
- Sector: Gaming
- Country: United States
- Total funding: unknown
- Cause of closure: Business model failed

## What did it do?

Evil Geniuses was an esports organisation that built professional teams, competed in tournaments and earned its income from sponsorship, prize money, content and merchandise. Its roots go back to a Quake clan in Victoria, Canada, in the late 1990s; its headquarters later moved to Seattle in the United States. It fielded teams in many games, including Counter-Strike, Dota 2, League of Legends, Call of Duty, StarCraft, fighting games and Valorant. From May 2019 it was owned by PEAK6, a Chicago-based investment company.

## Why did it shut down?

On 20 October 2026, CEO Chris DeAppolonio announced on X and LinkedIn that Evil Geniuses would end its competitive and day-to-day operations on 2 November 2026. According to Insider Gaming, the reasons were limited sponsorship opportunities and the rising cost of competing at the top level; DeAppolonio wrote that the business "cannot be operated responsibly in the current environment". Players and staff were freed to talk to other organisations; the Valorant players can sign with new teams once the 2026 season ends.

A long contraction came before the closure. In summer 2023 the organisation became Valorant world champion, but the same year CEO Nicole LaPointe Jameson stepped down at the end of August and the organisation made layoffs. In November 2023 the Dota 2 roster was released and the exit from the LCS, North America's League of Legends league, was announced; in January 2024 it also left Counter-Strike. A brand that had fielded teams in many games relied, in its final year, mainly on a single Valorant roster.

## The story

On 8 August 2015 in Seattle, Evil Geniuses beat CDEC Gaming in the final of The International, the Dota 2 world championship, and took first prize of USD 6,616,014. It was the largest payout in esports history at the time, and Evil Geniuses became the first American team to win the tournament.

The organisation's roots go back to a Quake clan in Victoria, Canada, in the late 1990s. Over the years it fielded teams in Counter-Strike, StarCraft, fighting games, Call of Duty and League of Legends; it won the Call of Duty world championship in 2018 and ESL One New York in Counter-Strike in 2019. It was part of GoodGame Agency, which Twitch bought in December 2014, became player-owned in 2016 and was bought in May 2019 by PEAK6, a Chicago-based investment company.

In August 2023 in Los Angeles it won Valorant Champions and, with the USD 1,000,000 grand prize, became the first North American team to win the game's world championship. The same month CEO Nicole LaPointe Jameson stepped down and Chris DeAppolonio took over as interim CEO. Then the contraction sped up: in November 2023 the Dota 2 roster was released and the LCS exit announced, and in January 2024 Counter-Strike was dropped.

On 20 October 2026 DeAppolonio announced that the organisation would end its operations on 2 November 2026, citing limited sponsorship and the rising cost of competing at the top level. Players were freed to talk to other organisations.

The story shows that even a brand with world titles may not survive when its income is tied to sponsorship and the sponsorship market shrinks.

## Lessons

- If most of your income depends on sponsorship, the business shrinks when the sponsorship market does; winning trophies is not a revenue model on its own.
- The cost of competing at the top level can exceed the prize money and visibility it earns; choose which games and which level to stay in by unit economics, not past glory.
- Nearly three decades of history do not replace today's cash flow; shrinking early and by plan is also what makes an orderly closure possible.

## Sources

- [Evil Geniuses Will Cease Operating On November 2nd](https://insider-gaming.com/evil-geniuses-shutting-down-november/)
- [Evil Geniuses to cease operations](https://www.hltv.org/news/45766/evil-geniuses-to-cease-operations)
- [Evil Geniuses CEO Nicole LaPointe Jameson steps down from role](https://esports.gg/news/league-of-legends/evil-geniuses-ceo-nicole-lapointe-jameson-steps-down-from-role)
- [Evil Geniuses](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evil_Geniuses)