There’s a saying that behind every successful man is a strong woman. And in modern esports competition, there is no better moment to describe this adage than the surprising victory of the Evil Geniuses team in the grand finals of Valorant Champions 2023 which was driven by their female head coach, Christine “Potter” Chi.
In a thrilling duel that took place at the Kia Forums stadium, Los Angeles, USA, last Sunday, the team defied all expectations and defeated their Singaporean competitor, Paper Rex, with a final score of 3-1 to win the title. And considering their path in the 2023 season, that historic event was surely a nice triumph.
Despite being known as one of North America’s top esports organizations, EG’s Valorant squad has never won a major championship trophy in 2021-2022. In the middle of this bleak transition period, management then decided to replace Jimmy “Lin” Lin as head coach in August 2021 with Potter, who was known as a female CS:GO player at the time. Although critics praised the decision, supporters were dissatisfied and questioned if an amateur could bring the squad to fight with the heavyweights.
Later, she had to deal with a difficult problem as the team entered the 2023 competitive season. She received a number of scathing critiques and hate comments as the squad underwent a big roster change and eventually turned into a meme after losing to LOUD at VCT Americas 2023 in April. Regardless of this, EG’s management continued their support for Potter, who appeared unfazed by the negative responses.
Shortly after the humiliation, Evil Geniuses went 3-1 for the rest of the season and cruised into the Americas League playoffs owing to MIBR’s victory over 100 Thieves. They finally finished third, and despite losing more games than they won during the regular season, they secured a spot at Masters Tokyo, finishing runner-up, and eventually landing at the highly awaited Champions 2023.
Their good form continued as they topped Group B in the Champions and defeated big teams like DRX and LOUD in the playoffs, and fellow underdogs, Paper Rex, in the grand finals. And there were loud cheers from supporters among the celebrations, as Potter had just completed the biggest milestone in the competition’s history: becoming the first female head coach to win the VCT Champions.
Given how much she has gone through to get to this point, the huge applause was well-deserved. First, even if the team itself has been seen as the public enemy in the competitive scene, she never cracked under the pressure and countless insults. Second, while the entire team was routinely mocked throughout the season, the coach, took responsibility for scouting and developing her roster, including the signing of underrated Cambodian Alexander “Jawgemo” Mor and the troublesome duo, Max “Demon1” Mazanov and Kelden “Boostio” Pupello.
In addition to winning the VCT Champions, Potter also deserves praise for establishing a new bar for women in Valorant competitive scene. Through her recent accomplishments, she is slowly changing the negative perception surrounding women’s Valorant tournaments, which has often been perceived as nothing but controversy and spectacle. She has proven leadership and abilities that transcend gender in an industry dominated by men.
Fans are undoubtedly waiting to see how Potter will seek to improve the team’s winning formula for the upcoming season as the Champions excitement begins to fade. For the time being, the EG squad has plenty of time to bask in their ‘villainous era’ victory.
