Evil Geniuses brings on Arteezy and cr1t, ppd announces retirement

Evil Geniuses unveiled its new Dota 2 roster today. And while some of the team’s biggest names are sticking around, one of its most veteran players has announced his retirement. After re-signing the majority of the roster which placed third at the International 6, Evil Geniuses has brought in two of 2016’s most talked about players: Artour “Arteezy” Babaev and Andreas “cr1t-” Franck Nielsen. Aside from these new names, the organization has retained Ludwig “zai” Wåhlberg, Syed Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan and Saahil “UNiVeRsE” Arora. This marks Arteezy’s third time playing under the Evil Geniuses banner in as many years. Originally joining the team in 2014, the highly touted player has since played for Team Secret and Evil Geniuses twice in each of the following years. Legendary EG star Clinton “Fear” Loomis announced his retirement from competitive Dota 2 yesterday after a decade of competing in the franchise. He’s now followed by Peter “ppd” Dager, who the team announced today has left the squad after three years. “After being presented with the decision of either pursuing a long-term career in esports or continuing on as an active pro player,” the news release reads, before continuing “one with an unforeseeable duration, he [ppd] ultimately decided it best to transition into the business management role offered to him by Twitch. The details of this new position and what it means for the brand will be announced in the weeks ahead.” Fear, meanwhile, will move on as a coach. The veteran has been tasked to “closely monitor and mold this group into a world power, capable of representing EG well on the global esports stage,” according to the press release. As the annual roster shuffle comes to a close, there are few teams as stacked on individual talent as Evil Geniuses. The question now is whether or not the lack of ppd’s leadership will be all too noticeable.