The Apex Legends Global Series’ second year is upon us with the Pro League beginning this weekend in all regions. North America promises some of the highest-profile names and rivalries in the entire world, and the Pro League matches in NA are sure to be intense.
Some of the most successful pros in the scene are also some of its most-watched creators, while others stream sporadically to tens of people. That doesn’t mean you should underestimate any of them, however. If you’re new to the highest level of Apex Legends and are looking for a player to follow, or you’re a veteran of the scene wondering if they’re missing something, here are some players to pay attention to heading into ALGS Year Two.
TSM Reps
TSM, comprised of Phillip “ImperialHal” Dosen, Jordan “Reps” Wolfe, and Eric “Snip3down” Wrona, is the most consistent team in North America. ImperialHal and Reps, alongside former team member Mac “Albralelie” Beckwith, were the undisputed kings of the genesis of pro Apex Legends, and while the scene around them has risen to challenge their dominance, they remain one of the best teams around still today. They finished third in the ALGS year one championship, and recently won NBA player Grayson Allen’s invitational, one of the biggest preseason tournaments held in NA this autumn. ImperialHal and Snip3down will get all the attention, partly due to gameplay and partly due to plenty of bickering. But don’t sleep on Reps either.
Reps is one of the best fighters in the game, and he tends to be the one in the group that tries to lift spirits when things aren’t going TSM’s way. Watch out for his Gibraltar in the final circle.
G2 Gentrifyinq
G2’s controller-wielding trio of Tyler “Dezignful” Gardner, Rigo “Gentrifyinq” Padilla, and Jordan “Resultuh” Resulta have long been considered one of the most intimidating teams in North America to fight. Don’t sleep on their quality as a team capable of pulling off smart plays, however. You underestimate the G2 boys at your own risk. Gentrifyinq in particular is known for making some stupendous plays.
Gentrifyinq has incredibly clean movement for a controller player, and his split-second decisions in fights often turns the tide for G2. He also tends to be one of the cooler heads on the team in the heat of battle. And while this squad may have placed a disappointing 11th place in year one’s ALGS championship, they’ve responded by sticking to their guns as a team and rattling off a string of Series E pro night victories in the preseason. Yes, those tournaments are not as quite as competitive as Pro League should be, but G2 is hungry for more, and we expect to see big numbers from Gentrifyinq once ALGS gets rolling once more.
NRG Sweet
NRG has one of the most experienced IGLs in the game in the form of Chris “sweetdreams” Sexton and paired him with the young duo of Aidan “Rocker” Grodin and Nathan “Nafen” Nguyen, who have played together for years now and have become two of the most feared fragging duos in North America. The org made the change after deciding to part ways with long-time IGL Joseph “Frexs” Sanchez, believing Sweet could propel the team to the next level. That decision has made NRG once of the best teams in the world. Having one of the best Kraber shots in the game also helps.
Few things can change a tournament lobby like seeing Sweet’s name pop up on the kill feed with a Kraber, but NRG’s success is more than just raw mechanical skill. Sweet analyzes the game like few other in-game leaders can and is constantly planning several rotations ahead. Get used to seeing NRG’s tags pop up in the kill feed during endgames, because they’re almost always there. That’s a credit to both their skill with weapons and Sweet’s shot-calling.
Torrent Euriece
Torrent (formerly Alpine) was one of the biggest stories to emerge from ALGS season one championships when they effectively sunk CLG’s trio of Ryan “ImMadness” Schlieve, Alan “Vaxlon” Gonzalez, and Trenton “Lou” Clements to a 19th-place finish. This came thanks to the proximity of the two teams’ landing spot and squabbles over loot, which led to them fighting early in nearly every game. Torrent rode those fights to a seventh-place finish and were in contention to win the championship themselves thanks to the ALGS championship match-point format. This is a good team that deserves your attention.
Considered one of NA’s most mechanically-skilled players, Euriece and the rest of Torrent are poised to play spoiler yet again in the upcoming Pro League. The 18-year-old has a habit of pulling rabbits out of his hat, and we expect more of the same from him in the weeks to come.
SSG Xenial
Spacestation Gaming’s acquisition of former Rogue star Mark “Dropped” Thees grabbed the attention of NA this offseason and turned SSG from a dark horse to a potential favorite. SSG fans will be hoping the addition of Dropped can help the team clear that final hurdle and grab a championship of their own, but we’re paying closer attention to another member of the squad: Angello “Xenial” Cadenas.
Time after time, when SSG find themselves in the endgame, it’s Xenial that brings the clutch factor to this squad. If there’s a one-vs-one or one-vs-two to close out the game, he’s your man. And what’s striking about watching his clutch play is that it seemingly doesn’t matter what weapon he has in his hands. He clutches with shotguns. He clutches with Kraber. He clutches with spray weapons, and he clutches while hip-firing a Scout close-range against a Peacekeeper in the finals lobby of the ALGS championship.
If you want a team not in the established triumvirate of top NA squads that could very well win a championship and a player that puts his team on his back time and time again, look no further than SSG and Xenial.
Verhulst
Should we call his team Intel, or should we call it Dude’s Night Out? Either way, the squad of Verhulst, Ira “dooplex” Shepherd, and Skittlecakes is one of the latest teams to emerge from Esports Arena’s Series E and make some serious noise. They won season three of the primarily tier-two competition and then took home the victory in the very first Preseason Qualifier, securing themselves a place in the Pro League. What strikes us about Verhulst is how quickly he’s risen to this level. A relatively-unheard of player until this spring, he and the rest of his squad were early adopters of the Valkyrie-Gibraltar-Caustic team composition, with Verhulst on Valk. That’s not a simple character to play at a high level, as her Skyward Dive ultimate can easily land a squad in hot water at the later stages of the game. Verhulst has excelled at the role and helped drive his team into Pro League.
If you’re looking for an underdog to root for, pay attention to Verhulst and his team.
COL Fun
Signed to Complexity as a content creator but playing with Team Liquid in this year’s ALGS (try to keep up), Brandon “Fun” Groombridge is good at the game. And that is fun.
But an underrated part of Liquid is how willing they are to try weird and off-meta team compositions in tournaments. They messed around with Horizon compositions over the course of last year’s ALGS regular season and will still bring out a Bangalore pick on occasion, the only team of note to do so these days outside of any team Shiv happens to be on. Fun is new to Liquid this year, but is taking up the mantle of the screwy team comp, showing off looks on his signature Gibraltar. He turned heads early in the preseason by picking a character that has had barely any ALGS representation: Fuse.
Fun is fun, Liquid is fun, and we’re particularly excited to see what they have in store for ALGS, as chances seem high they come up with a team composition that doesn’t look like what the majority of lobbies are running.
All of these players will be duking it out online starting Oct. 16 with the beginning of Pro League Split One. Every game matters, with a $500,000 regular season prize pool, and chances to qualify for LAN playoffs on the line. There’s also the matter of relegation: the bottom eight teams in the Pro League must fight for their Pro League spot in the next split with teams that finish at the top of the Challengers Circuit. In addition, each split has a $1 million prize pool waiting in the playoffs, all leading up to the ALGS Championship, where a $2 million prize pool and international glory are up for grabs. If you like Apex Legends with the stakes raised as high as they can go, you’ll want to check out the Pro League when it begins this weekend.
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Source: https://dotesports.com/apex-legends/news/players-to-watch-algs-pro-league-north-america
