Evil Geniuses drop reserve Valorant roster after Champions victory
Colin Young-Wolff/Riot GamesEvil Geniuses have announced a restructuring of their Valorant department following the world championship win as they look to trim their payroll heading into the 2024 VCT season.
In a video posted to X/Twitter, Lindsey Migliore, Evil Geniuses’ Sr. Director of Gaming & Performance, announced that players Brendan ‘BcJ’ Jensen, Jeffrey ‘Reformed’ Lu, Vincent ‘Apotheon’ Le, and Jacob ‘icy’ Lange, as well as coach Addison ‘zecK’ Gorzec, are available on the market with no buyout.
The decision comes just two weeks after Evil Geniuses made history by winning the 2023 Valorant Champions in Los Angeles. It was North America’s first world championship title and its first VCT global event trophy since the 2022 Masters Reykjavík, won by OpTic Gaming.
Migliore admitted that Evil Geniuses “didn’t really have it figured out” when it assembled a 10-man roster for the 2023 VCT season. Four of the reserve players didn’t play a single match in 2023, while BcJ was removed from the starting lineup two weeks into the VCT Americas league to make way for Max ‘Demon1’ Mazanov, who would go on to establish himself as one of the best players in the world.
But despite the lack of playing opportunities, Migliore hailed these players’ ability and highlighted their role in the main team’s Cinderella story.
“On a regular basis, these five individuals were scrimming and stomping a majority of the VCT Americas teams,” Migliore said. “In addition, they were playing against our starting roster and providing a level of practice we weren’t able to get anywhere else.
“And because they had no competitions to work for, the only thing that was driving them forward was their innate desire to make both themselves and the starting five better.”
Evil Geniuses trims Valorant team
Migliore explained that Evil Geniuses are moving away from their ten-man roster because of the recent changes to the VCT ecosystem and the impact of what is commonly referred to as the ‘esports winter’.
According to recent reports, a number of VCT Americas teams will cut back on spending in 2024 due to financial issues.
On Wednesday, Riot Games announced the roster construction rules for the 2024 season, which remove the obligation for teams to have six players in their active lineup. At the same time, they open the door for VCT teams to partner with affiliate teams and have two-way players on the roster.
Evil Geniuses added that backup player Kyle ‘ScrewFace’ Jensen remains on the roster as the organization continues “to explore options together.”
All the remaining players on Evil Geniuses, as well as head coach Christine ‘potter’ Chi, have contracts until the end of 2024.
Keep track of all the changes in the Valorant scene with our off-season rostermania tracker.
