Eric “Snip3down” Wrona is leaving TSM and the pro Apex Legends scene after almost three years of competition, the organization announced today. The former Halo pro is returning to his roots to compete in the recently released Halo Infinite.
“This is probably the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make in my life,” he said in a farewell video, referring to his choice to step down from the TSM roster to play Halo.
Snip3down has been playing in qualifying tournaments for the upcoming Halo Infinite LAN tournament in Raleigh, North Carolina, Dec. 17 to 19.
His team—composed of Halo veterans Jesse “bubu dubu” Moeller, Michael “Falcated” Garcia, and Adam “Bound” Gray—is currently competing under the name Inconceivable and are unsigned. But they’ve already notched impressive results, placing third in the most recent qualifying tournament. Many commentators believe it’s only a matter of time before they announce they’ll be playing under the banner of a large esports organization.
Widely considered to be one of the best Halo players ever, Snip3down has won more than 20 big tournaments and earned hundreds of thousands in prize money since his competitive debut in Halo 3 back in 2008. He switched to Apex Legends in 2019 and thrived in the battle royale’s competitive scene as well, notching tournament wins first as a member of Rogue and then on the game’s most popular and dominant squad, TSM.
As the release of Halo Infinite approached, Snip3down was vocal about his desire to continue to compete with TSM in Apex. But he also expressed interest in putting an exclamation point on the end of his pro Halo career by playing in the HCS debut LAN tournament in Raleigh.
The early release of Halo Infinite multiplayer beta seemed to thwart his plans. He shared on social media on Nov. 15 that the competitive schedule made it all but impossible for him to keep up with both Apex and Halo.
“Is that confirmation you’re competing?” one commenter asked.
“No it means I’m basically retiring,” replied Snip3down.
But as the Halo Infinite esports scene launched with a bang, the idea of coming back to competition must have been difficult to resist. The HCS returned with eight in-person events, major tournament partners like FaceIt, team skins that could be purchased in-game, and huge interest from fans and established esports organizations.
Snip3down began publicly scrimming with his Halo teammates almost immediately and made his debut in competitive Halo Infinite in the first qualifying tournament, the NA HCS Open. While he was able to compete in the ALGS just a few hours later, he appeared emotional at the conclusion of the day’s Apex matches, and his Apex teammates and peers wished him well on social media.
“Getting the opportunity to join a prestigious org like TSM was pretty much a dream come true for me,” Snip3down said in his farewell video. “Being able to team with Hal and Reps…was extremely special.”
