Effective Nov. 2, 2026, Evil Geniuses will be shutting down its esports and day-to-day operations, according to the company, ending a race of one of America’s most loved and praised eSports gaming companies after more than 25 years in esports in the game.
The closure came about after the company was hit with limited sponsorship and the rising cost of competing at the top level of the industry game, and was unable to continue operating responsibly.
Over the past few years, the organization had been trying to rebuild and stabilize its operations, further restoring public sentiment, growing engagement and output, which involved it expanding into new titles and building a creator roster, but all those efforts failed.
To the players, the staff, and everyone who put their heart and soul into EG over the last few years: you were all amazing. We gave this organization everything we had. I could not have asked for a better team,” Chris DeAppolonio, the company CEO, said.
“To everyone who has ever worn the EG logo, to the fans who kept showing up, and to the partners who supported this org over the last 25+ years: thank you for everything,” he added. “One big request to anyone still reading: if you’re hiring, please talk to our people. I will personally vouch for every player, creator, and staff member who worked here,”
Chris DeAppolonio additionally said the announcement sets different timelines for its competitive personnel.
Players on all rosters are free to speak with other organizations from the day of the announcement that was made on October 20, while VALORANT players and coaches become free to sign with new teams when the 2026 season ends Nov. 2.
The shutdown ends an operation of a company whose recent identity was tied to VALORANT and whose history spans several titles and records. Evil Geniuses won VALORANT Champions 2023 in Los Angeles over Paper Rex as the first North American team to win the event in the modern partnership era.
Additionally, in 2015 the eSports godfather won The International Dota 2 over CDEC Gaming as the only North American organization to win that tournament, and also, it holds records of the League of Legends LCS Spring Split in 2022 and the Call of Duty World Championship in 2018.
“I don’t usually get emotional about esports orgs but this one hurts. Evil Geniuses holds a very special & important place in Rainbow 6 esports history,” Parker Mackay, Canadian esports commentator and host who specializes in Rainbow Six Siege competitive gaming, said.
“It’s a shame what the org became and an even greater shame to see them shut down. Thanks for the memories,” he added.
In context, the company’s decline reflects a wider challenge for founder-led esports organizations: preserving their identity, culture and competitive direction after the people who built them leave.
At EG, successive leadership changes following Alex Garfield’s departure reshaped the organization, with former player and staff member Jacob Toft-Andersen identifying the PEAK6 takeover and Nicole LaPointe Jameson’s leadership as decisive points in the brand’s deterioration.
“Handing over the reins from Phil to Nicole was the ultimate death warrant… EG, the brand and legacy founded by Alex Garfield, deserved better. North American esports deserves to have the original Evil Geniuses at the forefront of competition,” Jacob Toft-Andersen said.
The organization had narrowed its competitive footprint in recent years, exiting League of Legends, Dota 2 and Counter-Strike in 2023-2024 to focus on VALORANT and creators. Its announcement comes after Riot Games did not select it for the reduced VALORANT Champions Tour partnership program for 2027-2028, in which slots per region were cut from ten to eight.
Evil Geniuses shutting down is the most heartbreaking and wtf news I heard today… They’re a legacy brand that has been around since basically the earliest days of competitive gaming,” an esports fan wrote on X wrote.
“Wow that makes me so sad. I love esports and it pains me to see players, orgs, talent, and all the wonderful professionals that make up the industry go little by little,” the fan addded.
With roots in the late 1990s as a Quake clan run out of a Victoria, British Columbia, cyber café, Evil Geniuses was professionalized after Alex Garfield joined in 2004 and later Amazon-owned Twitch bought GoodGame Agency, which owned Evil Geniuses at the time.
That corporate ownership was brief. Twitch divested in late 2016 to avoid platform conflicts, leaving the team under player-influenced management led by longtime executive Phillip Aram. In May 2019, Chicago-based investment firm PEAK6 acquired it outright and installed its associate Nicole LaPointe Jameson as chief executive.
