One of the largest and most respected esports organizations has been accused of repeatedly failing to care for one of its most promising players. Evil Geniuses runs players in professional gaming competitions for CS:GO, Call of Duty, Fortnite, Dota 2 and various fighting games, among many others, but it’s in League of Legends where sources said one of its brightest stars has fallen short support.
The report comes from Dexerto, which was told by “multiple sources” inside Evil Geniuses who were not named for fear of retaliation from the organization. They claim that League of Legends prodigy Kyle ‘Danny’ Sakamaki suffered from repeated neglect that contributed to the player’s struggles with mental health and physical well-being.
18-year-old Kyle ‘Danny’ Sakamaki regularly impressed the crowd and his opponents with his amazing plays and was particularly notable for his performance in the LSC Spring Playoffs last April, where the ADC player won three MVP awards. However, just a few months later, during the 2022 Summer Tournament, the Evil Geniuses team performed poorly, losing most of their matches and losing bad results against teams like TSM and Cloud 9, while many were left confused by Danny’s poor performance and unusually bad. he plays.
In September Evil Geniuses announced that Danny would be taking a leave of absence due to mental health issues. However, it has been argued that Danny’s problems were ongoing and that management neglected to provide care such that the player’s mental and physical well-being deteriorated. This got to the point where when Danny returned to his family home he was sent to see a doctor for malnutrition. Sources speaking to Dexerto claim that various Evil Geniuses executives and players had expressed concerns about Danny’s health and that it was serious enough that the LCS Players Association was contacted about the matter.
In retrospect, there were public signs that Danny may have been suffering from stress and exhaustion. Following the conclusion of the 2022 Mid-Season Invitational in May, Danny tweeted: “Cause playing 5 straight months of competitive legends league with scrims, riot features, official matches, lock in, LSC regular season, playoffs , houston finals , MSI, group stage, rumble stage, semifinals and erryone [sic] hates you.. means I’d love to take a little break.’
According to the sources, Evil Geniuses had initially provided support and care for an existing condition that means Danny is more prone to stress, something the esports organization was aware of when they signed him. “Initially, the organization was aware of his situation and did everything they could to support him,” a source told Dexerto. “A lot of his problems got worse with stress, so for example, they even hired a trainer specifically to work with him.”
However, the source claimed that as time went on the management “seemed less and less interested in helping him deal with the pressure” and that the Evil Geniuses were just hoping the problem would go away despite warnings from players and coaches. Danny’s health continued to deteriorate. The League player would eventually decide to take a leave of absence, but the issues were only resolved after Evil Geniuses CEO Nicole LaPointe Jameson spoke directly with Danny, it is reported.
A few months ago, Jameson indirectly accused Danny with a video statement shared on Twitter. In it, the CEO claimed that Evil Geniuses cares a lot about their athletes and was unable to say much due to “legal employment restrictions.” Meanwhile, earlier this week, esports journalist Thorin posted a YouTube video with similar allegations against Evil Geniuses.
However, Danny would make a statement about the reports and he said on Tuesday that “the accusations against E.G. they are not true”. He continued: “The truth is, the pressure of being an esports professional has overwhelmed me to my breaking point and EG has supported me all the way.” Danny also announced that he is now an official member of EG’s Creator Collective and will be creating content full-time on Twitch.
While it’s good that Danny took a much-needed break and found a smooth transition, the allegations will raise concerns about the stress and workload of esports competitors and whether they receive enough support and care from their management. Evil Geniuses have yet to respond to the new claims made by Dexerto’s sources.
