Albralelie's exit, Snip3down to TSM, and the Autumn Circuit preview

This is The Final Circle, a newsletter for the competitive Apex community

The Apex community has undergone some big changes in the last couple of days, saying farewell to Albralelie, one of its brightest stars, and watching Snip3down take his place on the TSM roster, the most dominant org in the game to date.

We’ve seen Albralelie complain about Apex for months, flirting with Valorant, flaming the game during tournaments for unplayable lag (fair enough), and generally struggling to have a decent time playing Apex. This was hardly a surprise. But it’s still surreal that he’s officially announced his retirement, addressing his anxieties about the future of the game and thanking his friends and community in a TwitLonger. The complete text is below:

As many of us probably noticed, there was a notable exception on his list of friends and supporters.

Albralelie’s sometimes difficult relationship with Hal was one of the scene’s most interesting dynamics. As I wrote back in July after there was a dust-up about toxicity in Apex, “anyone who’s watched TSM screaming angrily at each other while they stream a tournament or seen Hal’s chat knows that his response is partially defensive—as one of the most popular Apex streamers himself, Hal and his team set a really bad example of conduct. Call it fierce competitive energy, an abusive dynamic, petty squabbling among friends, call it whatever you want—hearing TSM team communication can be a profoundly awkward experience for the viewer: one moment borderline comical, the next moment extremely cringe.”

Comments on that post from the summer were about evenly divided between people who thought that the team dynamic was bad or unhealthy and those who thought that their high-spirited communication was one of the factors that made the roster so dominant.

Regardless, as they won tournament after tournament, this TSM roster became iconic, a big part of the developing competitive mythos of the game. The scene will miss Albralelie’s drive, passion and skill dearly, and we wish him the best.

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Snip3down to TSM

At the same time, Albralelie’s departure left a slot on the TSM roster open, filled by Snip3down, who was previously with Rogue. Snip3down is a strong replacement for Albralelie, maybe the only player that could make TSM better. Along with the hiring of the talented Danish player Gdolphn as TSM’s coach, look for them to reassert the org’s dominance after somewhat flat results lately. Expectations will defintely be high, but Snip3down brings the maturity level (and average age) of the team way up, he plays very well with Reps and Hal, and he’s very good-looking. Listening to their comms in the GLL cup yesterday, I almost felt bad for the lobby; and I think their Autumn Circuit competition in NA will struggle to deal with them. It should be great for fans, though.

Autumn Circuit Preview

The first tournament in the Autumn Circuit, Regional #1, is this Saturday to this Monday, October 5th. Times are listed in the previous link. With small prize pools and payments for only the top three teams, these Regionals are a little rough all around, but hopefully this Autumn Circuit will be the last seasonal event before the return of LAN, and the rebirth of truly global competition.

It’s a big time for the game otherwise—crossplay drops October 6th, and India, the second-biggest country on Earth, has finally become eligible to compete in the ALGS. We have a brand-new region to watch, with passionate players and fans.

There’s also been a lot of roster changes. Peesh, who didn’t find a ton of success on the Sentinels roster, has quit, and he’s been replaced by an old fixture on the scene—Retzi, the first player to ever reach Apex Predator. Retzi left Apex for Valorant, but was always listed as a substitute on the Sentinels roster, and is now back full-time on the squad.

In the previous issue of The Final Circle, I wondered whether Gnaske and SirDel, two of EU’s most dominant unsigned players, would be signed to a team after their incredible performance in the Summer Circuit. “Not even close” to being able to financially support himself, Gnaske’s future in the game was up in the air. Thankfully, both he and his teammate SirDel have been signed to COOLER, where they join the talented Yuki to form a trio. COOLER has been unsuccessful in Apex thus far, but look for them to frag out in EU and become a major threat.

Elsewhere in the Apex stock market, the still-new CLG roster will look to assert themselves in the Autumn Circuit. Madness has gotten much better as a shot-caller in the last few months, and they’ll continue to be a deadly force. Complexity will be thirsty for blood after dominating the Playoffs, but failing to win them—the consistent story around Monsoon’s agressive skill-set. Rogue’s performance decline will continue, losing Snip3down and with Sweet and Dropped focused more on making a living with streaming. In EU, North will also want redemption after their loss in the Playoffs.

There’s probably a ton of other big stories to look for as we move into the Autumn Circuit season, but let’s leave it there for now. I’ll be back next week with a post-game report on the Autumn Circuit Regional #1, and a catch-up on smaller tourneys like Esports Arena Series E.

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