Dota 2 star SumaiL loses lawsuit against Evil Geniuses after two-year battle

Sumail ‘SumaiL’ Hassan has lost his lawsuit against his former team Evil Geniuses in a jury trial.

SumaiL sued Evil Geniuses in December 2021 over a contract the player signed with the organization in 2016 after winning The International in 2015.

SumaiL was one of the best players in the world at the time he signed the contract. He later parted ways from the team in 2020.

SumaiL’s lawyers claimed that EG “took advantage of a young, naïve and vulnerable” player during his time with the organization, on top of pushing “draconian obligations and forfeitures” during negotiations around his release from the Dota 2 team.

Evil Geniuses wins lawsuit brought by former player

After two years of legal struggle between the two sides, a jury has ruled in EG’s favor. According to a report on the trial by Richard Lewis, the jury filed the verdict to side with Evil Geniuses on March 1.

The organization denied all the allegations made against it and claimed during the lawsuit that SumaiL was told to consult a lawyer before signing the contract. Additionally, the org said it did not try to push malicious terms onto the player when he was trying to leave the Dota 2 team, saying they gave him decent financial compensation and had a flexible agreement.

SumaiL was paid $20,000 a month when he re-signed with EG in 2016, according to the lawsuit. In 2019, EG looked to part ways with the player after a disappointing T1 run and gave him an amendment in his player contract so he could sign with other squads. SumaiL was later given a mutual termination agreement and a stock purchase agreement that said EG would buy back his options for $1 million.

EG also alleged during the suit that its then-CEO Nicole Lapointe Jameson told the player in a meeting to talk to a lawyer before signing anything.

SumaiL is still an active Dota 2 pro and competes for Nigma Galaxy. The player has played at The International five times in his almost decade-long career, but he has only one championship win. His last appearance at TI was in 2021 with OG Esports.