esports.gg speaks to Onset ahead of the ALGS Championship.
The ALGS Championship is set to be the biggest Apex Legends event of all time. It wraps up a hugely exciting fourth year of Apex Legends competition, which has been by far the most competitive year in the circuits history. While earlier years of the ALGS were dominated by just two teams, the ALGS Championship seems more open than ever before.
esports.gg sat down with ALGS caster Mark "Onset" Hatcher ahead of the competition to chat over some of the favourites to win the event. You can watch the full interview below:
Onset feels the pressure is on Team Falcons
Team Falcons are a team that arrives in Sapporo with a lot of pressure. They reacted to their 20th place finish in Mannheim by replacing Genburten with Wxltzy. This swap raised some eyebrows in the ALGS community. What did Onset make of the move?
"It's an interesting one isn't it? If you're someone who's looking for results or you're a fan of that team you're like, why would you drop Genburten who is one of the best players, a multiple LAN winner. It comes down to chemistry.
"Zer0 and Hal have talked about it, Gen's talked about it as well. There was something chemistry wise, dynamic wise, personality wise that after such a long time wasn't working. If you're a team and you lose that, it doesn't matter how talented a player is. if you can't get over that hurdle, that psychological, emotional hurdle and trust each other as teammates anymore.
"So it didn't surprise me to see the change being made. And I think for both players, it's the right thing to do."
Onset feels that Team Falcons will perform better than we saw during the ALGS Split 2 Playoffs. With Wxltzy, who fits the anchor role well in Onsets opinion, Team Falcons have a much better balance now. But, for a team that had the highest expectations in the games history, how important is this event for the team?
ALGS Split 2 Playoffs was an "off tournament"
"I think when you look at their results, it's clear how important it is just based upon their history. They're not used to not being in the conversation when five or six games have gone to win a tournament. It was without doubt one of the worst performances that Hal and Zero have ever had. Historically, they have always been there or thereabouts. They're usually the two players who are picking up a trophy at the end of it.
"I think it is super important for them, of course it is, for them to perform. Lots of investment has gone into that team. A lot of belief has gone into that team. A lot of work has gone into put that team together.
"I do feel like [the ALGS Split 2 Playoffs] was an off tournament. I don't think that's gonna be something that's consistent. In the EWC, they got second place. That's something to highlight as well as their first tournament together. [In Mannheim] they still made finals, which is, it's a crazy thing to say when you're talking about a team you expect to win tournaments, but you've seen how difficult it is to make a finals lobby at any ALGS event.
Are Falcons still the team to beat?
"So even though they didn't perform in the way they wanted to, and they weren't in the running to win it, they still haven't missed out on a final. I think that shows the bar that they have for themselves. A second place and a finals performance is being seen as disappointing since the team has come together, or the two parts of the team have come together.
"But I do think that this is an opportunity for them to put a little bit of a stake in the ground and say like, hey, we are still the team to beat here."
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Luminosity lacking self belief, feels Onset
One of the teams that learned first hand how hard it is to make an ALGS finals lobby is Luminosity. They failed to make the top 20 in Mannheim, a huge underperformance given the quality of the team. Onset feels that their struggles are mental, rather than in-game ability.
"It's a team that if I had all three in front of them right now, I'd like to grab by the collar and shake and tell them how much talent they have and the work they need to do to recognize that. I feel like they're lacking in a little bit of self belief right now. Scrims haven't looked great for them. A little bit of in-fighting going down, which is to be expected as well.
" It's not something to highlight too much because these are some of the most competitive people in the world who are striving for perfection, right? And it would be weird to not see arguments happening because everyone has to get their views out and try and address them to find the solution moving forward.
"But my worry for LG is this a team who is looking to perform now or is this a team who has recognized what their ceiling is going into this event and is looking beyond maybe this event as to what changes afterwards? Because that's a very dangerous mindset to find yourself in.
Onset wants to see Luminosity put in more effort
"We know that Sweet is still one of the best micro caller and IGLs that there is in Apex. We know that Sikezz has the ability to win tournaments, that Fuhhnq is the youngster who has the ability to put a huge amount of kills on the board. But I think it's about putting the work in for them.
"Ppeople have been sick in not being able to play in scrim blocks. People haven't been available for whatever reason. People have overslept, under slept, whatever it is. You can give me a million excuses, but if I'm the one who's paying the wages, I am expecting you to be there all the time, putting in all of that effort that needs to be.
"They're the only ones who can give the true answer on why they those days have been missed. Maybe there's legitimate reasons and maybe it's unfair for me to speculate on it. But I want to see LG perform because the finals lobby is better with LG in it. And I think everybody wants to see LG in that finals lobby competing at the top.
"I don't want it to be a case of at the end of the event, they look back and go, if only we would have practiced a bit more. If only we would have put a bit more time in. These kind of tournaments, moments don't come around that often. I think the LG need to recognize that now with still a couple of weeks to the event start and really put that hard work into it to make sure that they don't get a repeat of last time."
Do Shopify Rebellion count as favourites?
Shopify Rebellion, who renamed as part of a merger after this interview was conducted, are technically the last team to win an Apex Legends LAN event. However, in the aftermath of the event, the Split 2 Playoff Champions parted ways. Koyful and Xynew searched for a new IGL, leaving Phonyfps in search of a new team of his own.
Onset feels that the role that changed on the team is especially important when considering their chances.
"I think the type of player is a big contributor to the answer that if it's if your idea was staying in place and you pick up one player to join them, then you're probably talking about it as being the same team. But I think when you are swapping out your IGL for a different IGL that comes with a very different methodology, with a very different way to play the game potentially.
"It could be a different approach, communication style or whatever it may be. So I think you start to look at it as a slightly different roster. Don't get me wrong, Xynew and Koyful are absolutely disgusting and they were incredible in Mannheim..."
"...I think that they are no doubt a tournament favourite. They have the fragging power, Emtee is a great IGL, and it's just about putting it together now for them. I think they are up there with Falcons as one of the teams."
Onset backs the Loan Sharks, now Envy, for victory
While Shopify Rebellion, Luminosity and Team Falcons are always teams to watch before a LAN event, who else does Onset think has a chance at the title? He points to Loan Sharks, who since been signed by Envy.
"Loan Sharks are my potential pick to win the tournament. You look at the names on that team, and you look at their performances in scrims, and specifically in this meta as well, they have been one of the most consistent teams. And they have a man sat behind them as well in Raven as a coach who changed the fortunes of TSM back in the day and drove them towards a couple of LAN wins.
"They are a very, very talented roster. Dropped, Knoqd and of course YanYa who was picked up from Team Liquid. Dropped has always been a very good IGL, getting you to a good end game spot. And in this meta, if you can get to a good end game spot, you've got a really good chance of winning games."
Stay tuned to esports.gg for full coverage of the ALGS Championship in Sapporo, Japan and all things Apex Legends.