During this past VALORANT offseason, arguably the biggest story wasn’t the formation of a new roster but rather the disintegration of one that had just won a world championship as the majority of the Evil Geniuses lineup went its separate ways.
But while many VALORANT fans were surprised to see the roster come apart, the coach at the center of it all, Christine “Potter” Chi, said she felt it coming months before they even lifted the trophy.
“I knew last year before [Masters] Tokyo and before Champions that this roster probably wasn’t going to stay the same,” Potter said in response to a Dot Esports question. “For Boostio, C0M, and jawgemo… I’ve been coaching them for a couple years now and we’ve been through a lot of different phases in life together. Every player in their career, including myself, has these moments where you look at the other side and wonder if the grass is greener.”
Potter attests that every player on the roster had a variety of options during this past offseason and hinted that a few were able to obtain “the bag,” or a substantial monetary deal. But that isn’t to say the idea of sticking together was never on the table.
“Every player has to make a decision like that in their career, and for a lot of my players, [there were] a lot of options,” Potter said. “Some had the option to chase the bag. I saw it coming. We had conversations with each other on sticking together, not chasing the bag, and going for more wins, but [those were] tough choices.”
Surrounding these tough decisions by the actual roster itself was a storm of headlines about the worrisome past and future of EG. A Dot Esports report in November uncovered a crunch work culture imposed on a “skeleton crew” of employees and EG as an organization bowed out of Counter-Strike, Dota 2, and its flagship League of Legends program by way of an exit from the LCS.
Throughout all these reports, though, was the implication that EG would retain its spot in VCT Americas. And after a turbulent offseason, a new roster surrounding flexible duelist Alexander “jawgemo” Mor has been forged. In the press conference, Potter said she “couldn’t believe” she still had Jawgemo and is “thankful and lucky” to at least have him still on the team. Potter expressed how excited she is about the new individuals on this team as well and the idea of once again going from underdogs to possible champions.
“Flexibility was what I focused on, and personality as well,” Potter said when asked about offseason pickup priorities. “[Derrek] is absolutely capable mechanically, his personality is great, and his vibes are insane; later on in the season if we’re 0-4, I’m going to have to look at Derrek to bring the vibes up. But having that X-factor in his aim as well is going to be huge.
“Supamen is so mature and so damn good,” Potter continued. “I’ve actually wanted Superman on the squad for the last two years, [so] I’m very excited to work with him this year. NaturE, the new IGL of the squad? Day one of trials I knew I wanted him. He was so damn good in the server and always sacrificing; he’s going to be able to step back and let his players take all the fame.”
The new roster is afforded just one single advantage going into next year: a first-round bye in their VCT Americas kickoff group. They await the winner of G2 vs. KRÜ.
