JerAx Departs Evil Geniuses

Evil Geniuses have officially parted ways with Jesse "JerAx" Vainikka, thanking him for all that he has done for the team and wishing him good luck. The player himself said that he is looking for a new team, ready to play as a support or become a coach.

30-years-old JerAx is widely known for his time with OG (2016 – 2020), with whom be became the world champion twice in a row by winning The International 2018 and The International 2019. Shortly after the victory, he announced his retirement.

The player decided to return to the professional scene in late 2021 by joining Evil Geniuses, to replace their long-time captain Tal "Fly" Aizik. The updated roster has been rather successful in the North American roster, where they competed in the DPC’s first division. The team managed to place second in the first tour’s regional finals, as well as emerged victorious in the second tour.

However, at the recent ESL One Stockholm 2022 the team heavily underperformed. In Group A, they tied with BOOM Esports and beastcoast, but lost all their other games to Tundra, OG, BB, and T1. Thus, the team was the only one to not advance to the playoffs, placing 13th and receiving no prize money or DPC points.

The organization has not revealed JerAx’s replacement, however the team’s other support and long-standing member Andreas Franck "Cr1t-" Nielsen explained on his Twitch stream that the team lacked a proper in-game leader.

• Artour "Arteezy" Babaev
• Abed Azel L. Yusop
• Egor "Nightfall" Grigorenko
• Andreas Franck "Cr1t-" Nielsen
• Kanishka 'Sam' "BuLba" Sosale