The International 10 is set to kick off later this month from 7th October, which will see some of the best Dota 2 players in the world compete for a prize pool of over $40 million. North American Evil Geniuses is gearing up to assists its players in every way possible with the appointment of Dr. Alok Kanojia of Healthy Gamer to join as a mindset and performance coach.
Kanojia is popularly known as Dr. K on Twitch and YouTube, where he interacts with creators on the platform and hosts counselling sessions. He has worked with the team previously as well during the OneEsports Singapore Major and WePlay AniMajor.
Who is Dr. K? The mindset and performance coach for Evil Geniuses
Dr. K is a Harvard-trained practicing psychiatrist based in Houston, Texas. In addition to practicing psychiatry, he has worked with various content creators and esports players on his Twitch stream over the years. Healthy Gamer was founded by Dr. K before he started streaming on Twitch. He came into the spotlight following the tragic death of content creator Byron “Reckful” Daniel Bernstein. The psychiatrist worked with Reckful prior to his death.
Dr. K shared a video talking about how he has been playing Dota for over a decade and out of all the people that play Dota, the number of people who can get involved in the game’s esports is very small. He said “I am 38. There is no way I can ever do anything in esports. My time is past and I am decades too old and to be able to participate in an esport is unheard of.” He shared his excitement of being able to join EG at the highest level of the competition as a mindset and performance coach.
He has worked with Evil Geniuses throughout 2021 and was involved with the team during its second-place runs at both the WePlay AniMajor and the OneEsports Singapore Major. EG is one of the most consistent teams in The International with a win at TI5 and three top three finishes throughout its history.
Mental health is something that needs more attention in esports and Evil Geniuses’ partnership with Dr. K is a welcome move in the industry. Evil Geniuses will be competing in The International 10 starting 7th October, 2021.