Evil Geniuses under fire over “fuel partner” Chevron

Evil Geniuses have announced their partnership with Chevron, an energy corporation that primary does business related to oil and gasoline. This has led to backlash from the esports community.

Evil Geniuses has been around for a long time, longer than most esports organizations that exist today. Since it was founded in 1999, they’ve made their mark on some of the biggest competitive games out there.

However, recent happenings around EG have embroiled the organization with controversy. Dexerto’s report on the circumstances surrounding star ADC player Danny has sparked debate from fans of League of Legends and beyond.

Now, Evil Geniuses partnership with Chevron as their “official fuel partner” has plunged the org into even more hot water.

Evil Geniuses sign with “fuel partner” Chevron

Esports organizations have been sponsored by a wide range of corporations over the years, many of which exist within the automotive industry. It’s not new ground for the scene.

For example, Team Liquid Honda and Dplus KIA both have automotive manufacturers as title sponsors, and DRX are currently partnered with Porsche. Mercedes also has a long history of sponsoring various teams as well as official esports broadcasts.

However, Evil Geniuses’ recent announcement that they’re partnering with Chevron as their “official fuel partner” has caused controversy within the esports community.

Replies to the original tweet from Evil Geniuses are filled with angry fans and articles calling out Chevron, while quote retweets have called out the org for their partnership.

Additionally, a fan-made rivalry between Evil Geniuses’ LCS team and FlyQuest has cropped up due to FlyQuest’s identity as an environmentally-friendly organization.

All that said, an energy corporation like Chevron isn’t all that detached from the automotive industry, nor is it all that far outside of the realm of typical sponsors operating within esports.

Whether or not Evil Geniuses’ partnership with Chevron is affected by the community backlash remains to be seen.