EVY: "When maLeK spoke, Stewie turned back to his PC, not listening to him"

In a written recap of the sixth episode of "Le Club", French journalist Guillaume "neLendirekt" Rathier sat down with Paolo "EVY" Berbudeau, with the former EG assistant coach holding little back as he delved into his time with Jake "Stewie2K" Yip and company. The Frenchman has just come off of a five-month stint with the Seattle-based organization. During his time, the roster failed to get the ball rolling, reaching peak disappointment after failing to qualify for the PGL Antwerp Major earlier in the year.

EVY began his interview explaining that Evil Geniuses were adamant that Stewie2K would be leading the new-look roster, with EG justifying the move by saying, "he's a superstar, he won a major, he's the best player in the US". Whilst it's true that Stewie2K is one of the more successful talents to have hailed from the US, it's an interesting decision to have Stewie2K lead after the 24-year-old had lackluster results whilst playing in-game leader Hot Potato with Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo over at Liquid. This saw the roster consistently hover around tenth in the world rankings, with a 12th-14th place finish at the PGL Stockholm Major being the final nail in the coffin, with Stewie2K, FalleN, and Michael "Grim" Wince all departing the team by the end of 2021.

The assistant coach then offered an insight into the Major-winner's in-game attitude, stating that he "doesn't give his deathcam, he doesn't give all the time his communication, he is in fun mode, he rages..." This immature behaviour is only made worse by the accusation that Stewie2K would also refuse requests for tactical pauses in official matches, something bizarre given EG's poor showings throughout the year.

Reminiscing to his time as coach during ESL Pro League Season 15, EVY also alleges that Stewie2K gave up calling at the event, even with EG CEO Nicole LaPointe Jameson in attendance. This would go some way to explaining how EG bombed out of ESL Pro League with an 0-5 record to their name.

Regarding Stewie2K's attitude to Damien "maLeK" Marcel as coach, EVY claims:

Stewie wouldn't say hello to Damien when we walked into the room, starting on day 5/6. When Damien spoke, he was turned back to his pc, not listening to him. Sometimes Stewie would listen to Damien and then turn around and not respond.

With regards to the other members of the roster, EVY states that Vincent "Brehze" Cayonte was neutral, whilst Tsvetelin "CeRq" Dimitrov had an interest in bettering himself. This is a welcome sight from the Bulgarian sniper, and a step in the right direction as he fights to get out of his lengthy slump. As for the other Major winners, William "RUSH" Wierzba was the one bridging the two groups whilst Timothy "autimatic" Ta was initially in the Stewie2K camp.

It isn't just Stewie2K and his men under the spotlight, EVY turned his attention to the Evil Geniuses organization itself, suggesting that maLeK was told he would "have the reins" and the ability to introduce his own system and style, only for this to fall by the wayside later down the line. All this culminated in maLeK soon benching himself, with EVY quickly being released by the organization via Twitter a short time later as the organization looks to stand behind their players.

These damning claims really cast doubt on the lineup's longevity, with empty promises from the organization, a dysfunctional and disunited roster, and pressures from a constant inability to perform on stage making the chance at redemption unlikely. It can only be hoped that these empty promises don't become a recurring theme, especially with the two new rosters signed under the recently-announced Blueprint project, where both individual support staff and guidance were pledged to help the two squads improve their game.

The Frenchman also says that halfway through his five-month tenure with Evil Geniuses, the other players approached him to speak about Stewie2K's attitude, despite the fact that it had been apparent since the second day. EVY expands further with claims of Stewie2K being known for this type of behavior, such as refusing ideas, only to introduce them as his own a couple of days later.

Wrapping up the discussion, EVY stated:

The basic idea going forward was to part with Stewie, 1000%. In the end, it was maLeK or Stewie. We could have kept Stewie as a player, although he could have challenged the authority and made his star, but it could have worked.

Based on these claims, it's hard to see a world in which Evil Geniuses could have performed well. Regardless, Evil Geniuses now have a couple of months to steer the ship back on course, with their next outing being BLAST Premier Fall Groups, starting August 19th.