StarCraft II pro gamer Stephano to sign with Evil Geniuses

StarCraft II player Ilyes "Stephano" Satouri, North American Star League Season 3 Champion and the most consistent non-Korean player of 2012 thus far, will have his current contract to the French-based team Millenium come to an end on September 1. Rumors have swirled on what Stephano's next move would be, with several teams--including his current one--making bids on the 19-year old Frenchman.

Millenium eSports Manager Jean-Marc "Bjoran" Gaudin has confirmed with GameSpot that Stephano has declined the team's offer, and will not be re-signing. Sources close to the situation tell GameSpot that Stephano will sign with Evil Geniuses, which was said to have made the most lucrative offer among the professional teams, with Millenium close behind. One team executive said it's "pretty much a done deal with Evil Geniuses".

Stephano will play his last event for Millenium at this weekend's Major League Gaming Summer Championships in Raleigh, North Carolina as the top-seeded Non-Korean player at the event. He has been with Millenium for the past four years, playing the majority of his Warcraft III and the entirety of his StarCraft II career with the team.

Last year, Stephano took part in a controversial new team signing that never happened. After signing a new contract and agreeing to terms with team Complexity, he changed his mind and went back to Millenium the very next day. After days of contract disputes from both teams, a settlement was reached, mediated by Evil Geniuses owner, Alex Garfield, stating that Stephano would stay with Millenium but would be penalized with a significant undisclosed fine.

The move would mark the third new and second marquee StarCraft II signing for Evil Geniuses in 2012, following the additions of Swedish star Marcus "ThorZaIN" Eklöf, and American upstart Conan "Suppy" Liu. Millenium will be making an official announcement shortly.