Let’s take a look at some of the things you should know about Evil Geniuses.
Due to COVID-19, The International 10 was postponed by Valve in 2020. The event was scheduled to take place in August last year, but the global pandemic caught everyone by surprise — including one of the biggest gaming companies. Despite its efforts, Valve could not find a solution and decided to the event in 2021.
The problems don’t stop there. TI 10 was planned to take place in Sweden. Sadly, there was a problem with Valve and the country’s regulating authorities, which prevented the event being hosted there. As a result, The International 10 was postponed yet again. Luckily, we don’t have to wait for over a year because the biggest Dota 2 tournament should begin on 7 October in Bucharest, Romania.
Needless to say, the best teams in the world will have to compete against each other for the chance of winning the big prize pool. This year, TI 10 has a jaw-dropping $40,000,000 USD prize that will be distributed among the teams. One of the contenders that have a lot of chances of winnings is the TI 5 champions - Evil Geniuses. Let’s take a look at a few things that we should know about them.
EG is the most dominant team in NA
Everyone who is a fan of Dota 2 knows that Evil Geniuses is easily one of the best teams in the world. Although the team had a lot of ups and downs in 2020 and 2021, it continues to be the most dominant force in North America. That’s why we weren’t surprised that it became one of the teams that qualified for the event early on.
Evil Genius took part in several tournaments this year. After their second place at the ONE Esports Singapore Major 2021, the team got two second-place finishes. They became second in the DPC S2 NA: Upper Division and took second place at the WePlay AniMajor. Despite being one of the favorites, Artour "Arteezy" Babaev and the rest of his team-mates couldn't win against PSG.LGD. The Chinese powerhouse got a clean 3-0 victory and proved why they are among the best.
The Players
Evil Geniuses has always been one of the Dota 2 teams with the best individual players in the world. Ever since 2015, EG is home to the best players in their respective positions. Even though Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan is no longer a part of the NA squad, players like Artour "Arteezy" Babaev and Abed Azel L. Yusop are among the best in their positions.
Another superstar that plays an important role for EG is their offlaner. Daryl Koh "iceiceice" Pei Xiang is one of the most recognizable names in Dota 2 because he has been a part of many teams. Despite being mostly active in SEA, triple ice decided to switch regions. It seems like this was the right decision for him and EG because has been an irreplaceable part of its success.
Last but not least, we have the ex-OG support duo Andreas Franck "Cr1t-" Nielsen and Tal "Fly" Aizik. These two have many years of experience, which will definitely help EG at TI 10. Cr1t- joined the team back in 2016, whereas Fly's addition to the squad came in 2018.
The International
There is a little over a month left until we get the chance to watch the best Dota 2 teams. EG is always among the favorites, so it will be interesting to see whether Artour and his teammates can win another TI. For now, the only team that's managed to win the most prestigious Dota 2 event twice is OG.
