Evil Geniuses have been pretty consistently been the top team in North America and one of the top three in the world since they won North America’s first and only Pro League and Major titles back in Year 1 while known as Continuum. Since these victories, the team saw a notable drop-off as they narrowly avoided relegation to the Challenger League in Season 4 before eventually making it back to the Pro League Finals for Season 6 shortly after being acquired by one of esport’s oldest organisations, Evil Geniuses.
Since then, this team has been consistently one of the best in the world as they famously were just a single map away from defending their title at the Six Invitational 2018 before PENTA Sports (now known as G2 Esports) pulled off a reverse sweep to claim the title. EG were then once again knocked out by the G2 roster at the Season 7 Finals and the Paris Major grand final in what were two very impressive performances despite the inability to secure the overall win.
Most recently, EG fell short once again at the Season 9 Finals as they lost against Team Empire in the grand final following a huge comeback from the Russian giants. Now, as we approach four of the five players’ fifth Major together, the team will be eager to finally best both Empire and G2 and claim North America’s first major title in two and a half years to cement themselves as the world leader of R6 esports.
The Evil Geniuses roster prior to their Season 8 Finals. From L: nvK, Yung, Canadian, Necrox, Geoometrics.
And so, ahead of their Major appearance next week we spoke to their coach, Aaron "Gotcha" Chung, who joined the roster just prior to the Season 8 Finals, to ask how they have improved and what should we expect for this event:
The Season 9 Finals were, according to many, EG’s biggest possibility to win their first International title since the Six Invitational 2017 but you fell short. What has the team been working on in the last few months to assure that you are arriving to Raleigh mentally prepared?
You’ve ended the first Pro League half tied in second place with Team Reciprocity but failed to achieve any points against them and DarkZero. What will have to change during the next half in order to secure a spot to the Season 10 Finals?
The current Pro League standings in North America
Geo has been subbed out for the last few Pro League play days and you have been playing instead. Do you think this has hurt the team cohesion as the full roster hasn’t played together in an official game since June?
Geo via @EvilGeniuses
The Raleigh Major Groups were announced just 13 days before the tournament starts. How will this affect your preparation for the Major?
You’ve been placed in Group C alongside, Looking for Org (ex-LeStream), Spacestation Gaming and Ninjas in Pyjamas. A big part of the community called this the “Group of Death” immediately after the announcement came out. How do you fare your chances in the group?
The groupings for the Major
Your first game will be against Ninjas in Pyjamas who you previously faced at the Paris Major but this time the Brazilians will arrive to Raleigh with an unbeaten run in PL in their backs. How will you be preparing for this matchup and will EG’s unbeaten streak against Brazilian teams continue?
The current standings in the LATAM region of the Pro League
Is there anything you’d like to say to your fans?
The EG roster at the Season 9 Finals
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The Six Major Raleigh 2019 is taking place from the 12th of August to the 18th, where Evil Geniuses’ will be hoping to get their first major title since the 2017 Six Invitational. For more content on the upcoming major check out the other interviews here or read our Season 9 Finals interview with Necrox here or the pre-Six Invitational 2019 interview with Gotcha here.