According to reports, esports organization Evil Geniuses failed to protect one of their star LCS players, Kyle “Danny” Sakamaki.
According to a report by Dexerto’s Richard Lewis, speaking with sources close to Evil Geniuses’ LCS operation, Evil Geniuses failed in its responsibility to care for a star player on its LCS roster until it was too late. Danny suddenly departed the LCS 2022 Summer Split after his rapid ascension to being one of North America’s best marksman players.
Danny’s departure was attributed to mental health issues, with the pressure of performance getting to Danny, but it appears more that the reason stems more from organizational negligence than from Danny alone.
EG reportedly mismanaged star AD player
Danny’s rise to domestic stardom and subsequent disappearance from the scene was never fully explained to the LCS viewership.
Richard Lewis’ report brings forth a variety of new reported details to the situation. Notably that Danny is on the autistic spectrum, something that Evil Geniuses had said it would offer support for when they signed him. According to Lewis’ report, the team initially kept to its promise but gradually lost interest in addressing any issues stemming from Danny dealing with the stresses of competition.
According to Dexerto’s sources, Danny’s mental health began a significant decline after the team fell out of MSI 2022. This was noted by team staff and leadership, and players were allegedly told to avoid bringing it up with Danny himself. After Danny’s sudden departure, text messages criticizing EG’s culture and handling of Danny’s situation were read aloud by ex-professional player and caster Marc “Caedrel” Lamont, which drew a response from EG CEO Nicole LaPointe Jameson.
The picture painted by Lewis’ report is a damning one, with Danny visiting a doctor upon returning home in order to be treated for malnutrition. Even aside from the reports of poorly managed mental health concerns and a laissez-faire attitude by the organization towards these issues, a player suffering malnutrition while playing at the highest level of esports for an organization valued at $255 million in 2021 would be unconscionable.
The report states that Danny expressed a desire to retire early into the Summer Playoffs of 2022, and that EG staff and leadership did their best to talk him down from the decision.
Evil Geniuses has yet to make an official comment on Lewis’ report, but organizational mismanagement of players is nothing new to esports. On the bright side, according to Nick “LS” DeCesare, Danny’s hiatus from professional play is going well and doing the young star player good.
