Cloud9 has acquired Evil Geniuses’ CS2<\/em> BLAST Premier slot, accelerating EG’s apparent esports exit. According to a statement from BLAST, the bidding process for the slot was “competitive.”<\/p>
With the update in membership, these are the BLAST Premier partnered teams: Astralis, NIP, G2 Esports, OG, Team Vitality, NAVI, FaZe Clan, Complexity, Team Liquid, Heroic, BIG, and Cloud9.<\/p>
Sales of slots and downscaling operations are inevitable parts of the esports industry. The very foundation, the games themselves, are constantly waxing and waning in popularity, giving everything in the space an aura of uncertainty. However, it’s a bit strange for Cloud9 to buy in now, considering that in a year, these partnership slots will be no more<\/a>. Unless they got in at a heavy discount, the juice doesn’t look worth the squeeze. <\/p>
On the other side of the deal, Evil Geniuses is slowly pulling away from esports, selling off their franchised inventory one by one. The org recently backed out of the League of Legends<\/em> Championship Series<\/a> and looks like it’s selling off its world-champion VALORANT<\/em> squad<\/a>. The once-legendary EG brand has had an incredible fall from grace in recent years<\/a> and is reportedly “liquidating” its esports ventures<\/a>. <\/p>
