Fighting games esports’ most coveted free agent has found a new home. Prominent esports organization Evil Geniuses announced the signing of multi-time Evo champion Dominique “SonicFox” McLean and their longtime teammate and best friend Jon “Dekillsage” Coello on Wednesday.

Evil Geniuses celebrated its new signees with a video that showcases the duo’s personalities all too well. Terms of the deals were not disclosed.

The announcement closed the book on both competitors’ short-lived free agent status. Both SonicFox and Dekillsage exited esports organization Echo Fox in recent months as it reportedly wound down operations after investor Amit Raizada’s racist remarks cost the team its League of Legends Championship Series spot and led to founder Rich Fox exiting the company.

According to SonicFox, joining the Evil Geniuses roster is perfect as they share the company’s aim of “delivering excellence” while remaining true to oneself. “[Evil Geniuses] are all about living outside of the norm and standing up for those that don’t have a voice, which is something I embody and stand for every day,” SonicFox told ESPN. “When the world’s crazy, it’s important to never lose sight of who you are, and I hope that I can speak to anyone who’s struggling and encourage them to embrace what makes them unique.”

That celebration of identity is especially important to SonicFox, who has been at the head of esports’ evolution in attitude toward LGBTQ communities since declaring themself a black, gay furry while accepting the esports player of the year award at the 2018 Game Awards. They’ve regularly sported the trans flag at events while popularizing the “trans rights” rallying cry on any stage they take and came out as non-binary in 2019.

SonicFox eyes the opportunity to spread that message even further by signing with a company like Evil Geniuses. “It’s a lot of oppression, racism, homophobia and transphobia everywhere. Especially in the gaming industry. But I realize that my platform has gone past just fighting games, even past gaming itself. People who aren’t even into gaming know who I am, which means that my outreach is speaking to people,” SonicFox said in an interview on Evil Geniuses’ YouTube channel.

SonicFox and Dekillsage at the Dragon Ball FighterZ World Tour Finals.

“Being able to be myself could change so many different lives; that speaks to me. So, I want to continue to be myself and tell other people it’s OK to be themselves as well,” they added.

Both athletes showcased why Evil Geniuses brought them onboard during their brief independent period as SonicFox captured the Final Kombat 2020 title and Dekillsage placed third at the Dragon Ball FighterZ World Tour Finals.

It’s unknown when Evil Geniuses’ marquee signings will get to don their new jerseys and begin “living evil,” but there’s no doubt that the two close friends and competitors are set to take the fighting game community by storm once esports, like other sports, get back into the swing of things.

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