In the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive scene, North America is often seen as a weaker region than most of the world. They have had flashes of success which include the sole CS:GO Major win in early 2018 and the Grand Slam that Team Liquid won in 2019. Now, Evil Geniuses are ready to prove that NA is a top region again, starting with a brand new 15-man roster.
They started this ambitious process by signing three members of the Cloud9 roster that won that Major in 2018. Those players are Jacky ‘Stewie2K’ Yip, Timothy ‘autimatic’ Ta, and William ‘RUSH’ Wierzba who were stellar during their time with C9. While they haven’t started on the right foot, it looks like EG is ready to cement themselves at the top tier of the CS:GO scene.
EG made an ambitious move by signing those three players at the start of 2022. By signing the former Party Astronauts and Carpe Diem rosters to a partnership with Evil Geniuses, most people in the CS:GO scene are intrigued regarding what EG has in store for NA CS.
EG wants to strengthen the NA scene
For a long time, NA has always been ridiculed for being a weak region in CS:GO. While they have underperformed since Liquid’s Grand Slam in 2019, EG is seen as the hope for the region. They did well since the roster was created in 2019 but only two players remain from that time. Those two players are rifler Vincent ‘Brehze’ Cayonte and AWPer Tsvetelin ‘CeRq’ Dimitrov.
With this pivot to three five-man squads and an eventual 15-man roster, you can tell that EG’s words hold weight. They said that they wanted to save NA CS in the past but now, they are putting that into action.
They want to compete against the top teams in the world like Natus Vincere or FaZe Clan because they know that NA has done it before and they want to do it again. They have a worldwide audience and EG wants to strengthen not only their team but the entire scene by giving them the best teams to play against and raising the region’s level of play.
EG will field three five-man teams at first
While most people will see that the eventual plan is to have a fluid 15-man roster, the first few months will involve three separate teams; the EG squad, Party Astronauts, and Carpe Diem. This is important because it will give the new players the time that they need to develop. If they can grow properly, you should expect that EG will use all 15 players in tournaments.
This is important because this is healthy for the rest of the NA scene. Players get limited opportunities all the time around NA unless you are a star for the established teams. This unhealthy scene was the reason why various CS players moved over to Valorant where the NA scene is much healthier.
EG wants flexibility with their roster in the long run
With this roster that they have built, EG will be a force to be reckoned with if it turns out to be successful. It is a lofty goal for the team but they are ready to prove themselves in the long run. This is a move towards flexibility for esports because most organisations have gotten accustomed to five-man rosters.
The two squads’ partnership with Evil Geniuses will continue to thrive with constant support from one of NA’s biggest organisations. It is crucial for this to succeed because it will showcase NA’s top orgs making pseudo-academy teams that will help in creating a more competitive region.
EG will most likely face many hurdles with his roster but hopefully, they can succeed because it bodes well for the rest of the CS:GO scene with that kind of development.
