North American organisation Evil Geniuses has returned to League of Legends after departing in 2014 by purchasing the LCS slot previously owned by Echo Fox.
Financial details of the purchase have not been disclosed at the time of writing.
Evil Geniuses were chosen over Allen Shapiro, Executive Chairman of Dick Clark Productions and Washington Esports Ventures, the owner of Overwatch League franchise Washington Justice, according to a report by ESPN.
Nicole Lapointe Jameson, CEO of Evil Geniuses discussed the purchase: “Part of my experience with PEAK6 (and now, with EG) is knowing that in order to be considered the best, you have to compete where the best are. I could not imagine an EG without a push towards the LCS, and we’re happy to be able to put down roots as a franchise owner. We’ve had nothing but a good experience working with Riot, and we’ll be expanding our operations to Los Angeles to accommodate the needs of the new roster. We’re looking forward to the new members of the EG cabal that will make all this possible.”
Riot Games confirmed on August 13th that Echo Fox would be departing from the North American competition, with its slot being sold ahead of the 2020 Spring Split. Prior to this confirmation, the organisation was given an ultimatum by the developer stating that it must oust the shareholder that allegedly used racist remarks within 60 days.
It was reported that Echo Fox lined up Kroenke Sports & Entertainment as a buyer of its slot – for a value of $30.25 million (£24.2 million) – but that reportedly fell through once Rob Moore, CEO of Sentinels filed a lawsuit against the company for operating outside of a verbal agreement.
From there, Riot Games opened up a 30-day application process on August 16th that would result in it selecting a new long-term partner. It was said at the time that Echo Fox would receive “the bulk of the proceeds from the sale.”
Earlier today, Evil Geniuses also announced its entry in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive after purchasing the roster that previously represented NRG Esports. The organisation gained substantial backing when it was acquired by Chicago-based investment firm PEAK6 Investments in May.
Esports Insider says: It’s clear that Evil Geniuses is back with a vengeance now that it has significant backing. Entering CS:GO with a top-five roster is one thing, but also joining the LCS in the very same day? Now that’s one way to make waves across two major factions of the esports industry.