VALORANT fans are trying to predict what Riot does if Evil Geniuses exits esports

It’s no secret that despite taking home this year’s VALORANT world championship trophy, Evil Geniuses has been struggling mightily as an organization. So naturally, there are fans giving their thoughts and predictions about if EG were to depart VALORANT and esports as a whole.

According to a report by Sports Business Journal on Nov. 20 focused on Evil Geniuses exiting the LCS, EG “could be exiting the esports space entirely before the end of the year.” This news comes in the wake of the organization’s Game Changers roster making a miracle run to qualify for LAN, while reportedly holding its world champion VCT team in contract jail, as well as speculation that Riot may strip EG of its franchise spot in the Americas VALORANT league. 

Along with this speculation comes fan guesses as to which organization might get to take EG’s former franchise spot for itself, should it become available. One that many have their sights on is OpTic Gaming, which “fucked up” its original application for 2023 franchising, OpTic co-founder Hector “H3CZ” Rodriguez.

Other fan favorites to snatch a franchise spot are Moist x Shopify and Disguised. The former recently managed to beat franchised team Sentinels during a showmatch on Oct. 3, proving they have the chops to play against tier-one squads. 

Disguised, meanwhile, just posted its first profitable month and announced big plans for 2024, including potential expansion into the fighting game scene.

If EG does exit the VCT, Riot’s decision on a replacement will likely be controversial. We’ve already seen some precedent for this with how Riot handled The Guard roster’s organization folding despite them securing a franchise spot through the Ascension league. 

Riot seems adamant about not allowing an organization to buy its way into franchising, but if that’s the case, it may have to come up with a more palatable solution sooner rather than later with EG crumbling before our eyes.