Former NRG and XSET Players Join Evil Geniuses for VALORANT Franchise
Evil Geniuses has made its first addition to its VALORANT lineup for the 2023 franchising program, signing former NRG player Ethan Arnold and former XSET player Brendan “BcJ” Jensen.
The duo joins a squad that already includes Kelden “Boostio” Pupello, Jeffrey “Reformed” Lu, Alexander “jawgemo” Mor, Corbin “C0M” Lee, Vincent “Apotheon” Le, and head coach Christine “potter” Chi. Ethan and BcJ will provide a firepower boost to EG for the upcoming year of competitive VALORANT.
Ethan previously played for 100 Thieves and NRG after switching to VALORANT in 2021, while BcJ played for Highground, Sedated, and notably XSET, helping them secure a top-six finish at Champions 2022. Ethan did not participate in any international events.
Despite struggling in 2022, Evil Geniuses surprised the community when Riot Games selected them to play in the Americas league in 2023. Instead of completely changing their roster like other teams around the world, EG chose to retain its players and bring in Ethan and BcJ. Potter stated in the announcement that EG is forming a 10-person roster for 2023.
“You can’t just buy a legacy, you have to build it,” said Potter in the video. “A 10-person roster for our 10 fans. And they thought we didn’t know we made franchising.”
This approach by EG mirrors its strategy in CS:GO, where they have three male teams and aim to form a fluid 15-man roster. It is uncertain if EG will adopt the same approach for VALORANT.
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