A familiar face returns to EG

Evil Geniuses have announced that Damien "maLeK" Marcel has returned to the organization in the new role of Strategic Coach. This comes four months after he was transfer-listed in an announcement that came as a shock to most fans. According to EG, maLeK's new role will include him sharing his experience with all of the CS lineups in their "blueprint".

maLeK originally joined Evil Geniuses at the beginning of the year as they reworked the team to bring in some of the Boston Major winning team in Jake "Stewie2K" Yip, Timothy "autimatic" Ta, and William "RUSH" Wierzba. Coming off of a lengthy period with G2, many saw maLeK as the glue that would hold together a team that featured players that many considered outdated. Instead, maLeK would find himself shown the door followed by reports that Stewie2K and the coach had clashed massively.

With Stewie2K no longer part of the team and the rumors that maLeK would receive an ESIC ban still not realized, the two major factors that many people thought were behind him leaving have now dispersed.

It was also shortly after maLeK parted ways with EG that they undertook the blueprint project, which saw legendary American coach valens join the organization. Evil Geniuses' Blueprint project is an ambitious project that intends to approach talent investment differently in the NA scene. Instead of investing in an academy team, they are instead aiming to run three rosters simultaneously that will all aim to compete at a high level in the scene. With two great coaches now a part of the same coaching staff, and a new IGL at the helm of the main EG lineup, it will be interesting to see if Evil Geniuses can find good form at a high level.