Cloud9‘s spurned support player officially owns the last laugh, at least for now.
Recent Evil Geniuses addition and Dota 2 Asia Championships champion Kurtis “Aui 2000” Ling is now the highest earning Canadian esports star of all time. Ling’s cut of the over $1 million that Evil Geniuses won in its victory over Vici Gaming puts him well above the likes of Call of Duty superstar Damon “Karma” Barlow, StarCraft 2 favorite Sasha “Scarlett” Hostyn, and League of Legends fan-favorite Jason “WildTurtle” Tran.
More significantly, Ling’s total of $498,534.50 is nearly double that of the individual who orchestrated his removal from Cloud9: Jacky “EternalEnvy” Mao. Evil Geniuses’ victory in Shanghai also marks Ling’s first premier tournament title; a stark contrast to his campaign with Cloud9, which included six silver medals in as many premier tournament finals.
Surprisingly, the total even vaults the humble Canadian over brash mid-lamer Artour “Arteezy” Babaev, who garnered the lion’s share of his earnings from his own stint in an Evil Geniuses’ jersey.
The victory is nothing short of vindication for Evil Geniuses as an organization, who lost two of its most promising talents to Team Secret when team goodwill ran dry. However, few will enjoy the result as much as Ling, whose new hardware and position atop the earnings chart offer ample validation just a month and a half after his dismissal from the side he helped build.
Image via Valve
