Official: Evil Geniuses exit Counter-Strike

The organization departs the franchise for the second time.

Evil Geniuses have announced their exit from Counter-Strike, marking an end to their second stint in the franchise that began with the signing of the NRG roster in September 2019.

That team was a consistent tournament competitor at the time, briefly peaking at No. 1 in the HLTV world rankings and winning a handful of notable trophies including ESL One New York 2019.

However, a down period in the online era gave way to disastrous results from 2021 onward, roster changes saw the team become a shadow of what it once was, and perception of the organization and brand soured.

Hubris from one of the organization's staff upon a single best-of-three win over HEROIC, one of only two series that Evil Geniuses would win out of 17 in 2023, further compounded on that, as did a complaint the organization lodged about a playful broadcast skit at ESL Pro League that poked fun at them.

More recently, allegations of mismanagement and poor working conditions for staff within the organization also surfaced, and CEO Nicole LaPointe Jameson stepped down from the organization while making a woeful attempt to skirt blame.

EG's VALORANT team were also reported to be in "contract jail" after winning the game's most recent world championship, with the organization asking the players to take a pay cut while allegedly turning down buyout bids from other organizations.

As such, Evil Geniuses' departure from Counter-Strike comes as no surprise. A report by Richard Lewis in November revealed the EG were poised to exit the scene, and they have steadily been shedding their players and ties to the game ever since.

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Media: EG set to drop Counter-Strike division

The same report indicated that, due to a combination of an economic downturn and the organization's struggles behind the scenes, the EG brand could be sold off or fold entirely.

Recently, Evil Geniuses' BLAST Premier partnership spot was sold to Cloud9, their Louvre Agreement partnership with ESL was terminated, and they withdrew from the League Championship Series (LCS) in League of Legends.

The organization parted ways with its various Counter-Strike players over the past two months, with Timothy "⁠autimatic⁠" Ta and Colby "⁠Walco⁠" Walsh being the final members to depart the primary roster last week. Many of the players did not receive any acknowledgment of their time with the organization or announcement of their departure until today.