Stewie2K steps down; becomes content creator
The embattled IGL is stepping down from competitive Counter-Strike and will look to become a content creator for EG's "Creator Collective" where he will stream VALORANT and CSGO. In a tweet, Stewie2K said;
I’m hype to announce that I’ll be streaming VAL & CS for Evil Geniuses' Creator Collective. For now, I’ll be stepping away from competitive CS and focusing on streaming. Thanks to those who tagged along and 🥂to many more! My future isn’t determined, so stop by tonight’s stream 🤍
The former Major winner was part of the legendary Cloud9 roster alongside Tarik "tarik" Celik, Will "RUSH" Wierzba, Tyler "Skadoodle" Latham, and Tim "autimatic" Ta which won NA's first Major following a miraculous 15-11 comeback against Faze Clan during the 2018 Boston Major. Stewie2K would later leave the roster to pursue an opportunity with Made In Brazil, playing under the tutelage of Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo. Stewie2k would not experience the same highs under the MIBR roster as he did on Cloud9 and after only six months he would join Team Liquid. During his time with the Dutch-American organization, the young Californian would win eight events and the famed Intel Grand Slam.
The last few months have not been easy for the youthful "Smoke Criminal" as his time on Evil Geniuses was marred by disappointing results and controversy at the end of his career. As an individual player on Evil Geniuses, Stewie2K put up a dismal 0.93 rating over 44 maps, which is a far cry from his 1.02 rating with Liquid last year and a sharp decline from his peak days. With Stewie2K at the helm, Evil Geniuses has bombed out of the majority of events they attended thus far, including missing the PGL Antwerp Major despite a reduced field of teams from the Americas.
Beyond the tangible failures Evil Geniuses have suffered this year, Stewie2K's presence on the team has generated a near-constant flurry of controversy in the past two months. The saga started when Damien "maLeK" Marcel was moved to the bench while assistant coach Paolo "EVY" Berbudeau and analyst Juan "Hepa" Borges were fired over Twitter at the same time. In the weeks since those changes, EVY, Stewie2K, and members of the community have had much to say about the incredibly poor working environment within Evil Geniuses. Notably, Stewie2K and maLeK's relationship has reportedly essentially fracturing within the first week of their initial bootcamp leading to a downward spiral for the team.
Stewie2K himself admitted on stream that he doesn't believe he is a capable captain or IGL and that Evil Geniuses should look for other options, something that the organization has seemingly obliged given this morning's report by 1pv.fr. Stewie2K leaves behind a legacy as one of North America's most successful players with over 1,525 maps played, 15 event wins, eight big event wins, one Major, and two MVP awards. While never making it into the HLTV Top 20, Stewie2K has certainly cemented his legacy in North American CS:GO history.
