With North America solidly on top of the Apex Legends competitive scene heading into 2023 ALGS Split Two, interest is at an all-time high, with teams looking to bounce back for the second half of the circuit. However, despite NA’s international success, one organization is looking to drop out entirely for different reasons.
SpaceStation Gaming, a storied NA org, has officially released its roster of Mark “Dropped” Thees, Joseph “Frexs” Sanchez, and Angello “Xenial” Cadenas, after three years.
The trio has held strong international performances throughout their lifetime, with a fifth-place finish in the 2021 NA Championship, sixth place in the 2022 Championship, and most recently sixteenth place at the 2023 Split One Playoffs.
SSG’s chief executive officer, Shawn “Unit” Pellerin, clarified in a follow-up tweet how Electronic Arts and Respawn’s lack of fair revenue-sharing policies made it difficult to continue investment into the competitive scene. He went on to note that should EA change its stance on revenue sharing, SSG would express interest in returning to Apex.
The competitive Apex scene was most recently highlighted in-game at the 2022 Championship, with the return of the ALGS Team Shop. A portion of each sale goes to the participating organizations, including the now-defunct G2 Esports, Cloud9, and Team Liquid ventures, each of whom released their rosters during Split One of the NA Pro League.
However, despite the partnership, each team expressed concerns with EA and Respawn’s commitment and treatment of the pro scene, eventually leading to their exits from the ALGS.
Unit is the second CEO of a major org to speak out against the unfair relationship between EA and the ALGS teams. TL’s CEO, Steve Arhancet, specifically called out the lack of developer support for the competitive scene.
“We strive to only participate in games where the developers support the teams, so the teams can support their players in turn,” he said in an open letter, “hopeful that, one day, competitive Apex could follow that model and that we could return to the competition then.”
Heading into Split Two of the NA Pro League, SpaceSation’s spot may be taken by Sentinels, who seek a new roster after dropping their Split One team.
However, not all members may stay past the transfer. Dropped is rumored to be leaving the team, after past reports of SSG practicing without him before the London LAN, leaving Frexs and Xenial to find a new third before the next split begins.
