Sumail vs. Evil Geniuses Legal Case Proceeds to Court

One of the Dota 2 legends, Sumail "Sumail" Hassan, will not be making an appearance on The International stage. However, there is another place where Sumail will be making an appearance. He will take the stand as his legal battle with his former team, Evil Geniuses, is heading to trial.

The Case

In March 2023, news about the player and the team’s ongoing legal battle, which dates back to December 2021, surfaced. The case focuses on how Evil Geniuses as an organisation took advantage of a “young, naive and vulnerable” player during and after his time on the team. The party representing the player claimed a 40 000 share ownership stake was given to Sumail in the company when he signed a five-year contract with Evil Geniuses in September 2016. However, in May 2019, Sumail’s stake was converted into mixed stock when the ownership of EG changed.

The Witnesses

In the summer, both legal parties were busy readying the witnesses for deposition testimony. Evil Geniuses’s legal team requested to exclude any “late disclosed witnesses”, but their attempt failed. Although the witnesses list is vague, it includes several familiar names for many Dota 2 fans. It contains former teammates of the player.  Clinton “Fear” Loomis, Artour “Arteezy” Babaev, and Saahil “Universe” Arora are a few names that popped up on the list, along with the team’s former Chief Operating Officer, Philip Aram.

New Details

In new details that surfaced, EG made several requests for admission, addressing the player's claims. One of them being in a meeting, the former CEO of the EG, Nicole Lapointe Jameson, advised the young player to consult an attorney before he signed anything on the paper. However, along with several other claims, this claim was also denied.

The trial of the player against the team will commence on November 6th. Currently, both involved parties are getting their testimony ready. More information about the case will come to light in October.

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