Star Dota 2 player SumaiL engages in a legal battle with the former organisation
Current Nigma Galaxy player Syed Hassan better known as SumaiL, recently sued his former organisation Evil Geniuses for fraud and breach of contract. The prominent lawsuit mainly concerns SumaiL’s ownership and contract, which the organisation misused. Reporter Richard Lewis got his hands on the legal documents about the case, which have been circulating since December 2021. The main thing that remains is SumaiL’s 5-year tenure with his former Dota 2 side Evil Geniuses between 2015 to 2020. According to the current proceedings, the case will go for a trial to the jury on the 26th of June, 2023. Evil Geniuses now disagree with the claims of Fraud and Deceit, which results in false promises and the Breach of contract and agreement.
What does the lawsuit state?
According to the legal battle between the former organisation and the SumaiL, the lawsuit says that back in 2016, he was given a share of 400,000 stocks. But when Peak6 Strategic Capital took the organisation in 2019, SumaiL’s stock was converted into a split of 265,338 and 106,667 units of common and restricted common stocks. The player claims that no one in the group revealed anything to him during the sale, and only the members of Peak6 received the more valuable shares.
SumaiL also stated that in 2019, he got a new contract which gave him a hefty monthly salary and additional bonuses. But that didn’t go on for a while as Evil Geniuses finished 5th place in Dota 2’s The International 9. SumaiL got another contract and was later moved to the inactive roster.
The beginning of the internal conflict
In 2019, SumaiL got a new player contract, allowing him to participate in the MDL Chengdu Major 2019 qualifiers. However, this resulted in a pay cut from $20,000 to $2,000 per month and restricted him from participating in any tournament other than the Dota Major qualifiers. SumaiL got the chance to cancel the Contract by paying a one-time charge of $125,000. These essential clauses would let SumaiL represent another esports group without losing his ownership of Evil Geniuses.
SumaiL, in November, got a mutual release agreement that would end the contract early without that cost would affect his ownership shares. SumaiL’s termination agreement was explicitly described as Evil Geniuses using irregular tactics and the power imbalance created by SumaiL’s inactive contract status to possibly pressure him into giving up his stock and ownership stake. He was forced to sign the termination of his agreement in some way.
The Unit purchase agreement for SumaiL
In February 2020, SumaiL departed for his new organisation when he got an agreement for a unit purchase. It was proposed that the purchase value would be $1 million, and the player needs to pay around $300,000 as an initial pay and the later amount of $700,000 to be paid once he retires or on the 1st of March. However, the player in the lawsuit claimed that he needed to be given complete and accurate information about the purchase agreement.
Conclusion
According to the lawsuit, it is said that Evil Geniuses, the Dota 2 organisation took advantage of the player’s youth, naivety and vulnerability as they kept on proposing new agreements. The allegations state that SumaiL was pressured to sign the termination agreement. These all were done despite the player’s well-earned benefits of his dedication and talent towards the organisation. Now the Damages and costs are demanded. However, Evil Geniuses denied all the claims and took time as the case got delayed multiple times, and now it will be up for proceedings on the 26th of June, 2023. Read more on recent Dota 2 roster news.