Cover-Credits:
Evil Geniuses entered Valorant esports earlier this year but the team’s performance at major events has not lived up to fan expectations. The organization is making major changes to the roster with three players being replaced. Aleksandar Hinojosa, Ronan “Osias” Javelona, and Claudia “Clawdia” Che will no longer be a part of the active roster. Evil Geniuses is bringing in Mike “Pho” Panza, Brandon “Branted” Ballard, and Daniel “roca” Gustaferri. The three players will be joining Christine “potter” Chi and Nolan “Temperature” Pepper who have been a part of Evil Geniuses since its entry into Valorant.
Evil Geniuses will be looking to turn around its track record at Valorant events
The organization’s revamped roster will be making its Valorant Champions Tour later this week at the NA open qualifiers. This is what the new roster looks like:
Mike “Pho” Panza
Brandon “Branted” Ballard
Daniel “roca” Gustaferri
Christine “potter” Chi
Nolan “Temperature” Pepper
The initial roster stood out as being the first and only mixed gender roster in Valorant at the time. With VCT Game Changers offering a separate platform for female Valorant players, Christine “potter” Chi remains in the active roster as the only woman.
Evil Geniuses General Manager, Andrew Barton revealed “Based on our team’s performance over the first two Stages of VCT, we felt changes were necessary to progress towards the level of success expected at EG. As members of our inaugural VALORANT roster Aleksandar, Clawdia, and Osias will always have our thanks and appreciation for their commitment and hard work.”
Barton talked about how the team needs to adapt to the evolving Valorant meta stating that “moving forward, after significant scouting, trialing, and testing, we believe we have assembled a team that can adapt with the evolving VALORANT meta.”
It remains to be seen if the roster overhaul helps EG reach the next VCT Masters. Two Valorant Champions Tour Masters events have already concluded with the third and final Masters event set to take place later this year at Berlin. If EG fails to secure a spot at the event, it will no longer be able to reach the Valorant Champions Tour world championships which is scheduled for late-2021.
Fans can catch the new roster’s first performance live at the VCT Stage 3 open qualifiers this weekend at the NSG qualifiers. Fans can keep up with the qualifiers at: twitch.tv/nerdstreet (1PM PT)
