Former TI5 champion Syed “SumaiL” Hassan believes that Evil Geniuses’ struggles at ESL One Stockholm Major stem from outdated hero drafts from their coach, Kanishka Sam “BuLba” Sosale.
The former Evil Geniuses midlaner explained during a watch party with Dota 2 streamer, Janne “Gorgc” Stefanovski, that EG had not changed their playstyle before going into the Major.
“A year ago they were getting top two at Majors and it worked,” he said. “Now, it doesn’t, so it’s easy to say it’s bad, but it was working fine 10 months ago.”
SumaiL explains why Evil Geniuses are struggling at the Stockholm Major 2022
After three days of group stage action, Evil Geniuses are in last place in Group A with a 1-9 record. In the first two days of the tournament, EG picked Storm Spirit four times in three of their matches.
When asked by Gorgc if BuLba’s hero drafting was to blame, SumaiL responded by saying, “I think it’s a result of how they want to play the game, and Storm Spirit is the best way to do it. I guess, in a way, it is BuLba’s fault because he’s the coach.”
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EG’s group stage run so far
Evil Geniuses were previously considered favorites at any Dota 2 Major they attended. In the 2021 DPC season, they finished second at the ONE Esports Singapore Major and the WePlay AniMajor.
EG succeeded by focusing on their own playstyle, selecting heroes that best suit their Filipino midlaner Abed “Abed” Yusop. Playing versatile heroes like Storm Spirit, Ember Spirit, and Puck allowed Abed to make plays for his team in the early game.
Once they reached the late game, EG’s hard carry Artour “Arteezy” Babaev, who is incredibly skilled at farming and scaling, would lead them to victory.
However, at the Stockholm Major, Abed has struggled to make an impact on these same heroes. EG’s opponents were able to counter Abed’s early game rotations, and made sure that Arteezy didn’t have space to farm.
The North American squad will have one more shot at making it into the Stockholm Major’s playoffs. Only one team from each group will be eliminated from the Major.
EG must win their best-of-two match against beastcoast to tie with them for 6th place. If they do, they will play against their South American rivals again in a best-of-three tiebreaker to advance into the playoffs.
Evil Geniuses will play their final group stage match against beastcoast on May 15, 6:00 p.m. GMT+8 | 3:00 a.m. PT | 10:00 a.m. GMT.
Fans can watch the Major live on ESL ONE’s official Twitch stream from May 12 to 22. During the group stages, two additional streams will be broadcasting. You can find Stream B and Stream C here.
You can check out the upcoming playoff schedule and more information about the Major here.
READ MORE: Stockholm Major group stage day 3 recap: Perfect day for Tundra and BetBoom, Group B wide open
