Photo via HCS
The offseason madness continued in North America’s pro Apex Legends scene this weekend with multiple tournaments playing host to many of the region’s best teams trialing out new compositions, strategies, and, in some cases, new players.
The Knights Carnage Cup featured the majority of the teams already invited to NA’s Pro League in ALGS year three, alongside some high-profile free agents. And perhaps none of those free agents are higher profile than Mac “Albralelie” Beckwith, who caught the attention of the Apex community by playing through the two-day tournament with Eric “Snip3down” Wrona.
Snip3down added a Command in his stream today stating he no longer plays for the FaZe Halo team ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/v3u2bBRKNy
— HCS Intel (@INTELHCSHalo) August 27, 2022
Snip3down made waves in multiple communities during the tournament since he also revealed to his stream that he was no longer playing with FaZe Clan’s Halo roster. Citing significant differences in personalities and “the weakest mentals” he’s ever seen, Snip3down called the revamped FaZe roster “literally the worst experience I’ve ever had on a team.”
It remains to be seen if Snip3down opts to make a full-time switch back to Apex, though. He said on Twitter that he is not yet retiring from Halo despite the split with the FaZe team. But competing with Albralelie did nothing but pour more fuel on the fire. While the two players never seriously teamed together in pro Apex, Snip3down has said in the past he would be interested in playing with Albralelie.
The team, also featuring SlurpeeG, showed both the potential of the trio and the work that still needs to be done if the team wants to compete at the highest level during the Carnage Cup, finishing 17th out of 20 teams in the stacked lobby. Their team name, an acronym formed by the first letter of their three handles, also lit the internet ablaze.
Absolute chaos! The trio of @TSM_Albralelie @TheSlurpeeG @Snip3down wins game 4 on Storm Point!Game 5 starting now!👉 https://t.co/gBvvKGEyWV 👈#CarnageCup
[@eBay – @invstreams – @sheetz] pic.twitter.com/LqocmhkWKw— Knights Arena (@KnightsArena) August 27, 2022
ASS wasn’t the only team with new members playing on their squad. NICKMERCS’ Tripods team was in need of a new third member after former IGL Lewda announced he had mutually parted ways with the squad ahead of the next Pro League season. The team may well have found a high-profile replacement for him in the form of former G2’s Rigo “Gent” Padilla, who left G2’s competitive squad earlier this month.
Gent’s official wording on the event was that he was “subbing” for Tripods, and it’s quite possible that he still seeks an option with a team that is already representing an org rather than join a free agent squad. The trio saw some success in the Carnage Cup tournament, however, finishing in 11th place and beating out teams like Sentinels, 100 Thieves, and Renegades.
Multiple other squads showcased the power of their own new signings during the weekend as well. NRG won the Carnage Cup with new signing Zach “Gild” Dennis, while Team Liquid came in second place with suspected (but not yet confirmed) signing Sikezz. The Nerd Street Summer Championship, a LAN running at the same time as the online Carnage Cup, was dominated by Atlanta Premier and its newest signing, Alexander “Enemy” Rodriguez.
Fans and pros alike are still waiting for more information about ALGS year three, but in the meantime, teams are staying busy and trying to gain every advantage before the next year of Apex competition begins.