Walking into the Astral Clash event wearing familiar colors yet unfamiliar logos, Theia and Evil Geniuses were representing a new organization for the first time in their Valorant careers. In a moment where many would have succumbed to their nerves, they shone, and began the new chapter of their careers with a statement.
Origins
Theia, like many Valorant players, began her professional career in the Counter Strike series. Although she played video games since the age of 4, her first exposure to the Counter Strike series was in 2011 with Counter Strike Source.
At the age of 15, she attended her first LAN tournament at Fragadelphia, meeting future teammates EMUHLEET and rain for the first time, who were at that time playing for Team Karma. This experience left a strong impression on her as she attended as many Fragadelphia LANs as she could, slowly bringing her more and more into the world of esports.
Eventually, as she became a more established player, she tried out for Team Karma three times in four years before eventually making the team in 2019.
Following VALORANT’s establishment in the esports scene, Theia and her team shifted their focus from CS:GO to VALORANT in May 2021, starting with their participation in the 2021 North American Game Changers circuit.
Change
The saturation of the field in the Game Changers scene came as a shock to Theia, as she was used to the CS:GO scene, where there were only a few female teams.
She said, “I love that there’s a space for women and [marginalized] genders to play and grow and make a name for themselves.”
Theia and Dignitas made a name for themselves as one of the strongest teams in the region, although they (not unlike other teams in the region) were unable to dethrone the dynasty in progress being crafted by Cloud9 White.
Turning Evil
After qualifying for the Astral Clash Live Event, one of the most anticipated tournaments in the Game Changers Space, under the Dignitas banner, Theia and her team looked forward to playing against many of the other top-rated teams in the space at their first VALORANT “LAN.”
However, the Astral Clash Last Chance Qualifier was the last time Theia would compete under Dignitas. On Aug. 4, only two days before the Astral Clash Live Finals in Long Beach, Dignitas and Evil Geniuses announced the transfer of Theia, EMUHLEET, Showliana, rain, Stefanie and XP3 from Dignitas to Evil Geniuses.
After qualifying for the Live Finals, Theia was representing an organization other than Dignitas for the first time in her career.
“We are now EG, everything that we placed before, everything that we didn’t win, all of that is behind us. We are walking in here, we are a new org, we are going into our first VALORANT LAN tournament, we know we have so much more experience on LAN than all of the other players here, so we went in fully confident. I would say that there were no jitters at all,” she said.
Evil Geniuses won the Astral Clash Live Event, with their LAN experience shining as they lost only two maps, once to Misfits Black in the group stage, and once in the playoffs to Shopify Rebellion.
Future
Ahead of the pivotal Game Changers Series 3, Theia and Evil Geniuses have very high expectations. They have proven that they are capable of beating every team in North American Game Changers, bar Cloud9 White, including Shopify Rebellion and TSM X, the only teams within striking distance of qualification through circuit points to the Game Changers Championship in Berlin.
Evil Geniuses currently stand 30 points behind Shopify Rebellion and 70 points behind Cloud9 White in the circuit point standings. The Game Changers Series 3 Open Qualifier begins Oct. 6.
