In this episode of 'The Four Horsemen,' the hosts dive deep into the history and current state of the iconic esport StarCraft. They are joined by long-time commentator Kaelaris, who offers insights into the game's enduring popularity and the evolving competitive scene. The discussion covers the early days of StarCraft’s rise in Korea, the various match-fixing scandals, and the industry impact of StarCraft tournaments. They also touch on the transition from developer-led initiatives to community-...
Jun 19, 2025•2 hr 43 min•Ep. 9
In this explosive episode of 'The Four Horsemen,' hosts Richard Lewis, Thorin, and MonteCristo dive deep into the drama and shenanigans surrounding Evil Geniuses under the management of PEAK6. They discuss everything from the controversial rebranding, the appalling treatment of players and staff, to the financial gymnastics done with the Wolverhampton partnership. They also scrutinize Nicole LaPointe Jameson's leadership and the internal chaos that tarnished the storied legacy of this iconic esp...
Jun 11, 2025•2 hr 42 min•Ep. 8
In this episode of The Four Horsemen, Thorin, Richard Lewis, and MonteCristo dive deep into several major eSports controversies. They begin with Team Liquid's fallout with Honda following a controversial tweet from one of their Brazilian Rainbow Six players and discuss the broader implications and responses within the community. The conversation then shifts to the surprising stand taken by the GeoGuesser community against the eSports World Cup in Riyadh, illustrating how community-driven efforts...
May 25, 2025•2 hr 38 min•Ep. 7
In this episode of The Four Horsemen, Richard Lewis, Thorin, and MonteCristo are joined by Barry Lee of Evolved Talent to dissect the recent T1 Zeus agency drama that has captivated the esports scene. Barry offers an inside perspective on the contractual conflicts and accusations that arose during Zeus's free agency. The discussion also explores T1's distinctive K-pop style marketing strategies, League of Legends team management, and the potential repercussions in the competitive landscape. Addi...
Apr 01, 2025•2 hr 51 min•Ep. 6
Welcome back to The Four Horsemen! In this episode, Thorin, Richard Lewis, and MonteCristo dive into the recent win trading scandal in Team Fight Tactics (TFT) esports, following the announcement of a new esports circuit. They are joined by Frodan, who provides an in-depth analysis of the situation. The discussion covers the suspected collusion involving Chinese players, the implications on the game's integrity, and the broader issues of match fixing in the esports industry. Tune in for an engag...
Mar 23, 2025•2 hr 22 min•Ep. 5
Richard Lewis, Thorin, and MonteCristo discuss updates on Saudi involvement in esports, the expanded partnership between Riot Games and the Esports World Cup (EWC), influencers like Doublelift, Tyler1, Nadeshot, and Thebausffs being involved with the EWC, why Saudi Arabia's human rights record has gotten worse, updates on the "Esports Olympics," and more. EXPRESSVPN now sponsors The Four Horsemen! Get FOUR free months of service with our link: https://www.expressvpn.com/horsemen
Mar 10, 2025•2 hr 36 min•Ep. 4
Richard Lewis, Thorin, and MonteCristo are joined by Neil "Neil_M" Murphy, former manager of Into the Breach, to discuss the spectacularly scandalous implosion of Into the Breach, the shocking tweets from ITB CEO SlayTheMinotaur, the mishandling of funds, what happened to the sticker money from the final CS:GO Major, and more. EXPRESSVPN now sponsors The Four Horsemen! Get FOUR free months of service with our link: https://www.expressvpn.com/horsemen Control Body Odor ANYWHERE with Mando and get...
Feb 10, 2025•2 hr 45 min•Ep. 3
Richard Lewis, Thorin, and MonteCristo are joined by Alban "G2 Stilgar" Dechelotte, the CEO of G2 Esports, to discuss the state of League of Legends, the current outlook for sponsorships within the scene, the impact that massive co-streamers like Caedrel and Kameto have on the game, Riot Games and their relationship with professional teams, G2's ability to set the tone for other teams to follow, and more. Try AG1 and get a FREE 1-year supply of Vitamin D3K2 AND 5 free AG1 Travel Packs with your ...
Feb 01, 2025•3 hr 8 min•Ep. 2
Richard Lewis, Thorin, and MonteCristo discuss the ban on TikTok and how it could affect Riot Games, the current state and bright future of Last Free Nation, evidence that the LEC is viewbotting their YouTube channel in a silly way, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jan 19, 2025•2 hr 31 min•Ep. 1
Richard Lewis, Thorin, and MonteCristo are joined by Jason Lake to discuss the state of Counter-Strike going into 2025, the future of Complexity, Valve's new rules regarding Majors and qualifying for them, difficulties that CS teams continue to face, and more. Get 50% off FACTOR meals at https://www.factormeals.com/50horsemen with code horsemen50. High-quality, never-frozen meals delivered to your home! Check out our t-shirt collaboration with INTO THE AM at https://www.intotheam.com/lfn-tee EXP...
Dec 18, 2024•2 hr 32 min•Ep. 13
Richard Lewis, Thorin, and MonteCristo are joined by Thomas "Zaboutine" Si-Hassen to discuss the transition from LCS, CBLOL, and LLA into the LTA, the confusing status of 100 Thieves in 2024, how Riot borrowed ideas from Flashpoint in the new LTA format, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Nov 09, 2024•3 hr 16 min•Ep. 11
We are joined by Aleksandar "kassad" Trifunović to discuss the shady dealings and broken promises of the BLEED organization, including misdeeds done to their CS2, VALORANT, and Mobile Legends divisions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Oct 26, 2024•2 hr 23 min•Ep. 11
Danan Flander joins to discuss changes coming to American League of Legends esports, the downfall of Immortals in the LCS, shady business dealings made by NRG, sloppy communication from Riot in regards to Tier 2 competition, why Saudi Arabia is likely to become even more involved with Riot, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Sep 22, 2024•2 hr 1 min•Ep. 10
Richard Lewis, Thorin, and MonteCristo are joined by Graham "messioso" Pitt, currently the GM for Complexity CS, to discuss upcoming changes being made by Valve to professional Counter-Strike. Main topics include Team Falcons and Saudi conflicts of interest, difficulties that teams are facing with securing visas, teams' perspectives on the upcoming changes, the one hire that we recommend Valve make to improve the scene, and more. Thanks to our sponsors for supporting today's episode! Get 50% off...
Aug 18, 2024•2 hr 50 min•Ep. 9
Richard Lewis, Thorin, and MonteCristo are joined by journalist Kevin Hitt to discuss the state of esports journalism. Topics include the history of esports journalism, recent involvement from Saudi Arabia especially in relation to Rolling Stone and the Esports Awards, the reasons why ESPN Esports failed, how the recent Dr. Disrespect scandal was handled, Chris Greeley's subtweet on behalf of Riot Games in response to the latest Summoning Insight, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visi...
Jul 14, 2024•3 hr 13 min•Ep. 8
Pride month has begun and so has the corporate hypocrisy in the esports industry as Saudi money continues to increase its control over the industry with the imminent arrival of the Esports World Cup. Andrew "Zyori" Campbell, former DotA caster and esports personality, joins to discuss the corporate virtue signaling, the increasing level of sportswashing, and the cuts of caster rates for DotA 2 commentators. Our Horsemen also analyze the state of broadcasting in the industry at large and discuss ...
Jun 15, 2024•3 hr 31 min•Ep. 7
Richard Lewis, Thorin, and MonteCristo are joined by retired former Challenger player Yasukeh to discuss Riot Vanguard: Riot Games's anti-cheat used for VALORANT, League of Legends, and Teamfight Tactics. Further topics include the intrusiveness levels of kernel-level anti-cheat systems, Riot's claims on why Vanguard is needed, Reddit Moderators deleting comments and threads discussing Vanguard, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices...
May 15, 2024•2 hr 8 min•Ep. 6
Richard Lewis, Thorin, MonteCristo, and guest Phillip Aram continue the mini-series "The EG Files" by discussing Phillip's history with Evil Geniuses, the successes and struggles of their iconic DOTA team, the effects of the org splitting from Twitch and Amazon, difficulty in gaining sponsors and investment, the reasons why Peak6 was eventually chosen to support the org, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices...
Apr 10, 2024•3 hr 12 min•Ep. 5
Richard Lewis, Thorin, and MonteCristo begin the mini-series "The EG Files" by discussing how Evil Geniuses was formed, the team's time in Quake, Starcraft 2, and early Counter-Strike, Alex Garfield's cut-throat rise in power, EG's spike in popularity with signing players like HuK & IdrA, their handling of media, their Twitch era, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mar 11, 2024•2 hr 38 min•Ep. 4
We check in with Tomi "Lurppis" Kovanen on the status of "esports winter" as we head into the second year of budget cuts, layoffs, lack of sponsorship interest, and more. The Horsemen discuss the changes in the landscape, particularly the money flowing in from the Saudi government through ESL FACEIT Group and the surprising sticker returns from the Paris Major in Counter-Strike. They touch on the reinvention of Overwatch Esports, the struggles from the professional teams, and how the dissolution...
Mar 03, 2024•3 hr 10 min•Ep. 3
Richard Lewis, Thorin, and MonteCristo are joined by Harris Peskin of ESG Law to discuss the lawsuit filed by H3CZ and Scump against Activision-Blizzard and their alleged monopoly of Call of Duty Competition. The discussion also delves into the past and potential future of organized esports competition, the monumental impact this case could make on U.S. law, esports and video games in general, why other game publishers, like Nintendo and Riot Games, could get involved. Learn more about your ad c...
Feb 23, 2024•2 hr 29 min•Ep. 2
Richard Lewis, Thorin, and MonteCristo are joined by Dan "Foxdrop" Wyatt to discuss the mass layoffs at Riot Games & Activision Blizzard, the layoffs' effects on the LEC as a product, experiences working with people at Riot and Activision Blizzard, and the bleak future of working in the esports industry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Feb 02, 2024•4 hr 2 min•Ep. 1
Evil Geniuses and Golden Guardians have suddenly left the LCS, League of Legends' North American professional league, leaving only 8 team remaining out of the original 10 franchise slots. Former GM of Golden Guardians and long-time esports manager Danan Flander joins the Horsemen to discuss how we arrived at this moment and what it means in the broader context of the ongoing "esports winter." Is the LCS in a doom spiral or will this help boost interest in the league with fewer bottom-tier matche...
Nov 27, 2023•2 hr 34 min•Ep. 14
The Overwatch League suffered another wave of layoffs this week and news broke that Activision-Blizzard will pay teams $6 million to abandon their franchise slots at the end of the current season. It appears that the era of the Overwatch League has ended, so Harsha Bandi, former professional coach for the San Francisco Shock, Vancouver Titans, and Houston Outlaws, joins the show to discuss the highs and lows of OWL over the years. The Horsemen cover the ambitious goals and lavish spending that d...
Jul 23, 2023•2 hr 41 min•Ep. 13
Riot has eliminated the requirement for the North American LCS teams to field amateur rosters, which left many questioning the future development of talent in the region. LCS Players' Association leader Phillip Aram joins the horsemen to discuss the group's demands to Riot and the possibility of a player walk-out at the start of the Summer Split. The discussion focuses on Riot's lies to the LCSPA about their commitment to the academy system, the best ways to support rising professional talent, a...
May 25, 2023•3 hr 4 min•Ep. 12
Aleksandar "kassad" Trifunović, professional Counter-Strike coach and analyst, joins the Horsemen to discuss the issues with the talent announcement and the lead-up to the final CS:GO Major hosted by BLAST. They discuss the competitive integrity issues that plagues the qualifying RMRs, the lack of key historic talent at the event to close out the Global Offensive era, the puzzling addition of Jake Lucky, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices...
May 08, 2023•2 hr 31 min•Ep. 11
Devin Nash, former CLG CEO, joins the show to discuss the onset of esports winter and the looming issues with the broader industry. The Four Horsemen trace the failures of monetization that brought us to this point, as well as the zealous over-investment that caused the esports bubble. They discuss how viewership was assumed to be exponentially increasing, the inflation of player salaries, the lack of media rights, the failure of properly serving advertisers, and more. Learn more about your ad c...
Apr 15, 2023•3 hr 7 min•Ep. 10
Evil Geniuses' star League of Legends player Kyle "Danny" Sakamaki suffered severe stress and an inability to continue playing during EG's playoff run in the LCS in Summer Split and Worlds 2022. New reporting by Richard Lewis and Thorin reveals systemic neglect by CEO Nicole LaPointe Jameson and other members of EG's upper management. Guest horseman Richard "RichsWrath" Wells, League of Legends professional player agent, joins the show to discuss in detail the background behind Danny's troubled ...
Mar 03, 2023•2 hr•Ep. 9
Tomi "lurppis" Kovanen, co-managing director of Immortals Gaming Club and former professional player, joins the the Horsemen to review 2022 through the esports business lens. They discuss the imminent "esports winter," the state of sponsorships in a potential recession, the shift from franchising to the new VALORANT model, which esports are healthiest in 2023, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices...
Jan 13, 2023•3 hr 25 min•Ep. 8
Rich (Rich'sWrath), player agent and founder of H2K, joins the the Horsemen to review 2022 in LoL esports, discuss the effects of the recent FTX debacle, possible reasoning behind the LCS 2023 schedule, updates for the LEC format, the status of player welfare, wishes for 2023, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Dec 21, 2022•3 hr•Ep. 7
