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Following the ALGS London LAN, teams falling short of qualification for Birmingham’s ALGS Championship 2023 are scrambling to confirm their players before roster-lock and LCQs (the Last Chance Qualifiers).
The so-called ALGS 2023 ‘rostermania’ of roster changes started with a bang after Furia, Vexed Gaming and Element 6 all revealed changes. Now, several major teams have confirmed player swaps and new team members, including Northeption, BLVKHVND, and Naked. A full list of transfers and LCQ teams can be found at the end of this article.
Vexed Gaming was the first team to confirm a stand-in player for LCQs and has already seen the most rapid roster changes. Less than two hours after confirming the departure of TylerFPS (pictured) from the team, the organisation has announced that gdolphn will be filling his position for LCQs, and, if necessary, the Championships.
Danish player Gdolphn has been active in the Apex Legends competitive scene since 2019, bringing more experience to the team. Alongside playing in teams such as VZD and Game of Drones, he has also filled roles as a coach and streamer between 2019 and 2023.
UK org Vexed Gaming experienced a frustrating Split 2 Playoffs, exiting in last place in Losers Bracket Round 1 after finishing 33rd out of 40 teams in the Group Stage. After comparing the Playoffs to their performance in the Regular Online Split, where they finished in 2nd place behind Alliance, many are seeming unsurprised at the decision to change their roster.
Vexed are not the only team forced to make rapid ALGS roster changes ahead of LCQs. Element 6 also released a statement announcing the release of KIND4.
At only 17 years old, KIND4 was the youngest player present at the London ALGS Split 2 Playoffs, where his team finished the competition in 24th place. Missing out on a place in Sunday’s finals was likely a contributing factor to the organisation’s decision to change their roster.
Before the Split 2 Playoffs had even concluded, Furia’s HisWattson announced his departure from the organisation’s competitive roster in favour of returning to full-time streaming.
The player expressed a wish to have waited until after the competition to release his statement, but recognised the pressure making last minute ALGS roster changes before LCQs.
The Apex Legends LCQs are set to take place from July 21st to 23rd 2023. It will feature 40 teams from each region who have not yet qualified for the 2023 Championship, set to be held at Resorts World Arena, Birmingham, from September 6th to 10th alongside Insomnia Gaming Festival.
According to projections and calculations from Apex Legends Liquipedia, European teams Alliance, Acend, Pioneers, Element 6, Fire Beavers and the UK’s Jlingz Esports have qualified for the Championships. This leaves Vexed Gaming competing in LCQs to join them.
Timeline of ALGS 2023 rostermania roster changes
July 15th
- HisWattson announces his departure from Furia’s competitive team. He will be continuing his relationship with Furia as a streamer, with no current intentions to return to competitive play.
July 16th
- Mande, currently signed to TSM as a content creator, announces his intent to return to competitive Apex Legends. The player has a rich history of success in the ALGS, including achieving 5th place in London’s Split 1 Playoffs earlier this year as a substitute player for Alliance.
July 17th
- Pirrus is released from the LeaveNoWitness roster and announces that he is a free agent.
- Coritiba Esports (SA region) signs Rynex to their team.
July 18th
- Vexed Gaming announces that they have released TylerFPS from their roster. Gdolphn will replace him on the team for LCQs, and, if they qualify, Championships.
- Element6 releases KIND4 from their ALGS roster.
- B4mbino confirms that Slab and Mysi will be competing with him on team GoNext for LCQs, after Josh announces that he will take a break from competitive Apex following his time on the team for the Split 2 Playoffs.
- Sentinels welcomes Koyful to the team, who will be playing alongside Rkn and Xenial.
- Following HisWattson’s departure from Furia’s competitive team after a disappointing Split 2 Playoffs performance, they have announced Albralelie as their new member ahead of LCQs. This puts into question who will join ImMadness and Shooby, as Albralelie had been their stand-in. Rumours suggest that Keon (prev. Sentinels) could be their replacement ahead of LCQs after his recent trial with the team.
- Aporia sign Akimboh and Blinkzr to their roster ahead of LCQs, with Blueberry and Kuzmei becoming free agents.
- Senzz leaves Portuguese Beavers and is now a free agent and LFT.
July 19th
- BLVKHVND release Buegy from their roster, who is now LFT. Buegy was a member of their ALGS Split 2 Playoffs team, which reached the finals through the Elimination Brackets. The APAC-South team has yet to announce their replacement ahead of their games in the ALGS Championship.
- Graceful (last played for Element6) announces their return to the competitive Apex Legends scene. The player was initially forced to step back due to financial issues. They are now LFT, and an option for teams looking to sign a new player to their roster ahead of LCQs.
- Prycyy announces his departure from Moist Esports in order to prioritise his mental and physical wellbeing.
- Dexter moves from the starting roster of Ton Yum Kung to be a substitute player. The team’s starting roster is now Killoposz, Panayie, and Wey.
- ATHXHVY releases Vlatow from the team. The South American organisation has yet to announce a replacement player.
- Following their release of Pirrus, LeaveNoWitness part ways with the remaining players (Kurev and brtus_o) and coach (maestrojefe). Kurev, brtus, and maestrojefe made the decision to play in LCQs with Vlatow, who was released from the ATHXHVY roster earlier today.
- Northeption and NAKED commit to a player swap – Northeption signs Lykq from NAKED, and NAKED sign Reyzy from Northeption to take his place.
- A tweet from Northeption’s Taida suggests that he is no longer active on the team and does not currently have the opportunity to play in the LCQs. If this is the case, Northeption will need a third player for their team.
- L1ng, who previously played for FENNEL last split, is now listed as being on Northeption’s roster, suggesting he will be playing on the team in place of Taida. Both Taida and L1ng are listed on the roster via Battlefy, with L1ng likely being the player active for LCQs.
- Keon – previously Sentinels – will now be playing with ImMadness and Shooby after Albralelie moved to the Furia roster. They will be playing as a trio under the name ‘Team Stability’ and are currently unsigned for LCQs.
- Specter Esports replace Kaisener and coach Soapz with Jet and coach Untold on their roster ahead of LCQs.
8pm BST/3pm ET/12pm PT – Roster Lock is in force, all Last Chance Qualifier teams must be locked in and confirmed.
July 20th
- BLVKHVND confirms their third player – the team has already qualified for the Championship, and is therefore not affected by the LCQ roster lock. However, the team contributes to ALGS 2023 rostermania and announces their replacement before LCQs. PlayerKay will reunite with their previous teammate, StrafingFlame on the BLVKHVND roster to compete in September.
- GHS Professional – APAC-N- confirm their new coaches, D4ntalion (Head Coach) and Alpan (Assistant Coach).
- Team Singularity announce their Championship roster, with artiNN1, Elysium, and B1n signed for the Birmingham LAN with their coach Besk9.
- Element6 announces that TylerFPS (prev. Vexed) is joining their roster for the ALGS Championship.
Stay tuned for more ALGS 2023 rostermania news over the coming days!
Hannah is a writer specialising in the esports, gaming, and technology sectors. Working for companies such as Lionscreed Esports, Esports Insider, and SideQuest Hub she has developed a love for wider esports and Apex Legends, although it may never surpass her drive to passionately beat her friends in every game of Mariokart. You may have seen her at various esports and gaming events, including ESI London, EGX, Discover: Esports and many League of Legends watch parties.
