The greatest rivalry that Liquid ever had in esports was the one in StarCraft 2 between us and Evil Geniuses. In the early days before the scene really developed, the sentiment was that TL was the community darling building talent from the ground up and EG was the evil empire buying players left and right to buy themselves trophies. In those early days, I did not know the people behind the organization. We competed in all the big tournaments against each other, and when HuK was at his peak, one of the most difficult moments in our organization's history happened when he made the switch to EG. Yet despite the rough start to our relationship, throughout the variety of events that we both attended, Alex Garfield and I ended up spending more and more time together. While we always remained fierce competitors and enemies on the battlefield, I had started to see him as a friend and incredibly skilled rival, peer, colleague, and eventually, ally. In order to make it in this space, organizations such as Liquid and EG need to work together, and in those years it felt like we were having a positive impact and building a healthier ecosystem for all. Eventually we created the Holy Alliance: bitter rivals teaming up to take on the Korean professional teams on ProLeague was a reflection of the ambition of both of our organizations, as much as it was a statement on the development of our work together behind the scenes. In my 25 years in esports I can say without a doubt that Alex was one of the most brilliant people I have worked with. Even with investment dollars coming in, new founders coming up and experienced CEOs entering from outside the industry, I will forever hold Alex’s strategy and understanding of the space in the highest regard. It is sad to see that Evil Geniuses is finally closing its doors and I feel especially for all of its staff and players. However, not all is lost. I know this is a business, and ultimately it is up to those who now own the brand, but I would really like to urge the current owners of the brand to do all of esports a favor and allow for a transfer to Alex. Or in the words of HuK: “GG's, give the brand or sell it super cheap back to @alexgarfield please and thanks” 🙏