Well, there it is. Nicholas ‘Nickmercs’ Kolcheff is going to be an Apex Legends pro – it’s not something we thought we’d ever see, but it’s something the popular streamer and FaZe Clan co-owner has been working towards for some time with his Apex Legends team Tripods. Following a string of decent results in the Apex Legends Global Series (ALGS) Challenger Circuit throughout Year 2, Respawn Entertainment has invited the team to compete in Split 1 of the ALGS Pro League next year.
Competing at the top isn’t going to be easy, but Nickmercs and his teammates – ‘Lewda’ and ‘Deeds’ – have been hard at work putting in the hours getting some fairly decent Top 20 results in the numerous qualifying tournaments held in the build up to next years’ Pro League. And, as we now know, it’s all paid off.
Sharing the invitation with the world, Nickmercs had his own graphic made up using the official wording of the invite and tweeted it with the following comments: “Tripods in the league now b*tch [Flame Emoji] They said it would never happen! Shouts go out to them”.
So… It’s safe to say that Nickmercs is pleased that he’s been invited to the ALGS Pro League, right? Well, it makes sense. Respawn Entertainment itself has said that Nickmercs and the Tripods team has “proved [their] skill, passion, and comittment to being the very best” after all. Just look at the tweet below:
TRIPODS IN THE LEAGUE NOW BITCH 🔥 THEY SAID IT WOULD NEVER HAPPEN! SHOUTS GO OUT TO THEM pic.twitter.com/CwfB13gj4V
— FaZe Nickmercs (@NICKMERCS) July 19, 2022
As you might expect, a lot of people have come out in support of Nickmercs’ achievement. Call of Duty content creator ‘Legiqn’, MMA fighter Max Holloway, and even lubrication brand ‘Astroglide’ have tweeted their support – although, we think the last one has more to do with the Tripods than Nickmercs.
NFL player Branden Bowen even went as far as to say that Nickmercs will be the oldest player to ever play in the ALGS – and we think he might be right.
Sheeessshhh after the hours and hours of grinding, you can finally say you did it!!! OLDEST man to ever play in the ALGS😎 Congrats grandpa👨🏻🦳 @NICKMERCS https://t.co/1tJqhWjClX
— Branden Bowen (@BrandenBowen) July 20, 2022
However, it’s not all support – there are some fans of Apex Legends’ esports scene that think his invitation is a bit of a joke; what’s more, as Dot Esports reports, several Apex Legends pro players are questioning the ALGS’ invitation process altogether.
XSET pro ‘Clane’ has posted a dejected tweet, stating that the “not good enough feeling is horrible” with the following reaction:
How is a single last chance qualifier worth more than an entire year of pro league 🙃
— XSET Clane (@ClaneSZN) July 19, 2022
In addition to this, FURIA Esports’ ‘TeQ’ has said that “Nickmercs getting an invite without playing Split 1 or Split 2 should be illegal”, stating that the invitation was a “smart business move for the scene”, but a huge loss to all the players who played in both Splits and didn’t make the cut.
ima be real, nickmercs getting an invite without playing split 1 or 2 should be illegal lmao. smart business move for the scene, big L for the players who actually performed in both splits & failed to get invites.
— TeQ (@96TeQ96) July 19, 2022
There are a lot of voices on both sides of the conversation and no one can deny that Nickmercs and his team haven’t performed well in the ALGS Challenger Circuit games they have played. However, it’s hard to deny that the team doesn’t have the pedigree and performance history of their peers – something that should be considered to an extent. However, the ALGS Pro League is a trios-based competition and Nickmercs’ Tripods have featured the same line-up in competitive games for some time now.
Whether this is going to actually pay off when the third year of the ALGS Pro League starts later this year or not, it’s hard to tell. However, we do know that this is only going to make the competition – and Nickmercs – all the more popular (especially if he does well).
Want to jump into Apex Legends’ ranked after reading all that? You can check out our latest take on the meta with this Apex Legends tier list right here. Expect this to change soon though – the next season is right around the corner.
