On their home turf, Evil Geniuses claimed the TI5 Aegis of Champions, thus becoming the first (and only) NA team to win The International.
The International 5 prize pool continued to soar high above any other esports event and has even surpassed the prize funds of some well-known traditional sporting events, such as the Cricket World Cup, The Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, and others.
With an astounding total of over $18,000,000, the TI5 prize pool had outpaced the combined prize funds of all previous four Internationals - $17,005,079.
That wasn't even the best part for North American Dota 2 fans.
Comprised of five individually talented stars including one “prodigy” and two of the game’s most seasoned veterans, the team was a beacon of light for the North American region.
With such an outstanding presence and great tenacity, Evil Geniuses overcame various hurdles early in the season to become the first (and to this day only) NA team to win The International.
The TI5 Grand Finals did nothing but demonstrate the unparalleled focus and determination of Evil Geniuses. The team thrived under the leadership of Peter “ppd” Dager, who created the right environment to nurture upcoming rising star SumaiL.
Evil GeniusesIn January 2015, Team Secret changed their roster, plucking both Ludwig “zai” Wåhlberg and Artour “Arteezy” Babaev from Evil Geniuses. The community was left gasping at what had just occurred. The general perception was that this would be the defining moment marking Evil Geniuses’ fall.
However, part of what set Evil Geniuses apart from other teams was the way they handled the challenges they were faced with. As it turned out, a roster change at the height of the Dota 2 season was not going to be the end of Evil Geniuses.
Arteezy and zai were immediately replaced with Kurtis “Aui_2000” Ling – formerly of Cloud 9, and Syed Sumail “Suma1L” Hassan – a 15-year-old who had started to gain recognition in NEL, the North American Elite League. The change seemed rather unconventional, but would soon prove to be spectacular.
SumaiL and Aui_2000 made their Evil Geniuses debut at the Dota 2 Asia Championships, a tournament of such magnitude that it has become known as “The International of the East”. Evil Geniuses seized the first-place finish and their first championship title with the new roster - the first step towards their ultimate achievement of obtaining the Aegis just months later.
Evil Geniuses' 2015 The International Championship Roster:
clinton “Fear” loomis
Syed Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan
Saahil “Universe” Arora
Kurtis “Aui_2000” Ling
Peter “ppd” Dager
Over the years, Evil Geniuses' became synonymous with Dota 2 in North America. The pillar of NA Dota left the region entirely after releasing their roster in November 2022.
TI11 marked the last tournament for some of the players, who over the past several years had become true ambassadors for the organization.
So where are these historic players now?
Clinton was long hailed as one of the “oldest” players in the North American Dota scene - often known as Old Man Dota, in both terms of age and experience. He had been widely regarded as one of the best North American players since the game’s inception.
Fear began his Dota 2 career playing with UNiVeRsE for Online Kingdom and competed in The International 2011. His journey to The International and his Dota 2 career were featured in the “Free to Play” documentary.
Other than his two-month departure from under the organization’s wing – when he continued to compete with the same roster, under the SADBOYS tag – Fear remained with Evil Geniuses, either as a coach or a player — until Evil Geniuses bid farewell to the iconic player at the end of May 2018.
Clinton then focused on fatherhood and occasionally competing in various stacks for qualifiers for the next several months before announcing he would step away from competitive play.
This came on the heels of Valve's announcement of their plans for the DPC 2020-2021 season that was originally set to begin October 5th. With the official DPC season now put on hold until at least January, Fear had voiced his concern and distaste for the decision made.
The veteran player then headed to Peru to coach Thunder Predator, who was one of the three South American teams attending The International 10. They ultimately took a disappointing 17-18th place finish and that was the last of Clinton's coaching career so far —instead putting his experience and talent to use as commentator and analyst for events.
He was named one of the 30 most influential teens of 2016 by Time.com. With charisma, swagger, talent, and a long list of accolades he has it all. Syed Sumail “Suma1L” Hassan should be considered Dota 2 's most eligible and desirable bachelor core player.
Known for his Storm Spirit and aggressive Aegis steal attempts, for years SumaiL has continued to demonstrate his exceptional raw talent, instinct, and focus. He is explosive, fearless, and a terrifying opponent. He is short-listed as one of the best NA players of all time, and perhaps even from around the world.
In the post-TI9 shuffle, he left EG on rocky terms and that's where his career began to sputter and stall. Difficulties with contractual obligations and terms prevented him from being able to compete with Quincy Crew. Then COVID made it even more difficult for him to thrive as he had just joined OG but was grounded in NA with little to no events happening in the scene.
But in 2020/21 this King had gone from red carpet rollouts to all but vanishing from the radar. He'd been spending his time dinking around other games and stomping around the NA pubs —a far cry from the arduous grind and commitment that propelled his ascension to the top.
He headed to Team Secret but after only six months they parted ways before heading over to Team Nigma. There he had little to no achievements and has since been put on loan to various teams, including Team Aster in China.
Offlaner, Saahil is a well-known and accomplished veteran, having competed in the first seven International championships.
In the first International, he was part of Online Kingdom, alongside his long-time teammate Fear. Following The International 2011, he joined Evil Geniuses, in 2012. At that time, he only remained on Evil Geniuses for a short period of time. But after finishing ninth at TI3 with Dignitas, Saahil rejoined Evil Geniuses, where he would take a third-place finish at The International 4.
It wasn’t until TI5 that he would achieve the highlight of his career - taking The International championship title with Evil Geniuses. At that time Saahil was praised as a paramount key to success as he continued to demonstrate his ability to create space and showcase beautifully executed plays thanks to his timing and positioning.
Following TI5, TI6 was an equally impressive run as a second Aegis seemed to come within grasp, but the veteran was unable to lay his hands on the second trophy ultimately taking third place.
In 2017, continuing to play for the North American giants the champion offlaner was aiming to re-claim the Aegis, only to end up with a devastating 9-12th place finish.
Then a bump in the road mid-season left Saahil's fans concerned for his eighth attendance at TI.
In December, Evil Geniuses made the shocking announcement that the organization had parted ways with UNiVeRse, leaving him a free agent for approximately one month before he headed to SEA, replacing long-time offlaner Chong Xin 'Ohaiyo' Khoo in the Fnatic lineup.
Things didn't come easy for him and his new team. Falling short of grabbing enough DPC points to warrant a direct invitation to The International 2018, Fnatic fought their way through the burgeoning region for their place. Once again he ended up with a disappointing finish, placing 13-16th at the end.
Following TI8 he joined up with NA team, Quincy Crew who was later picked up by a new organization on the landscape, Forward Gaming. The 2018-2019 season brought about a commendable season at the start. Then in March 2019, it was announced that the famed offlaner parted ways with the team and reported that he would be taking a break.
It was a defining moment that would end up resulting in missing his first TI ever.
UNiVeRsE returned with the DPC 2019-2020 season, joining back up with ex-teammate and TI5 championship captain, PPD in NiP. Together they rode out the new season with ups and downs, a path he had become used to taking in this later part of his journey.
It was then he announced his retirement and has been away from the Dota 2 scene since.
The Canadian support player first discovered DotA when he was nine years old. Kurtis began his Dota 2 career in 2012, playing carry for the up-and-coming North American team PotM Bottom.
For Kurtis, TI5 would highlight how crucial a support role can be in the road to victory. Sacrificing, rotating, and playing around the strategies that were best designed for a win, his selfless moves were very successful.
However, in a shocking turn of events, the news of the reshuffle of the TI5 Championship team, Evil Geniuses would stun the community.
The support player for Evil Geniuses broke the news of his kick from the team on both his Facebook and Twitter accounts. Aui then publicly asked the organization to provide confirmation so that the community would understand it was accurate as many were in disbelief over the news.
The following years were a mix of competing, being a broadcast talent, and coaching various teams. He even returned to Evil Geniuses, headed to various regions, and had mixed results —a true revolving door career.
In November 2021 he headed to Europe as the coach for Tundra Esports, a move that resulted in him becoming the first person to win The International as both a player and a coach as Tundra became the TI champions in 2022.
Peter switched from Heroes of the Newerth to Dota 2 in 2013. After The International 3, he was recruited to play for Super Strong Dinosaurs, and after the team disbanded ppd teamed up with Fear to create SADBOYS, which was later picked up by Evil Geniuses. In a relatively short career, ppd had already placed third at The International 4 and first at The International 5.
After TI5 he would once again place 3rd at The International 2016. In December 2016 it was announced that he would be the new CEO of Evil Geniuses.
After TI7 he left Evil Geniuses and stepped down as their CEO, returning to competitive play.
In 2018 he would again take the captain's helm and take Optic Gaming to their first TI appearance, placing a respectable 7-8th place. 2019 saw PPD take another new organization to their first TI with, Ninjas in Pyjamas. Ultimately the team failed to win a single match 2-0 and fell out of the group stage with a score of 0-3-5. The 2019/2020 season wouldn’t be much better for the Ninjas and announced his retirement in April 2020.
In 2021 Alliance brought on board TI5 champion ppd as a second coach for their Dota 2 team. A stint that lasted one month.
PPD was a controversial player and often spoke his mind without softening the blow. For this some hated him and some loved him. But he, along with others, helped shape Dota 2 into the game it is today, giving chances to rising stars such as Sumail.
