NRG reportedly played Series E anonymously in place of team Bad Boys. They placed 2nd, but who was on the NRG roster?
NRG Apex supposedly made their debut with their new roster last night. However, they did this in secret. To viewers at the time, it seemed like Team Badboys were simply putting in a strong performance. Since the tournament has concluded, it has emerged that Team Badboys was actually NRG, featuring their new and unannounced third.
NRG's strong Apex debut
If it was indeed NRG playing, they got off to a blistering start as a team. In the opening game, NRG rampaged to an unbelievable 5th place. Their opening salvo involved a whopping 16 kills. The new roster saw NRG go without Gibraltar, and this aggression and freedom seemed to pay off.
Not to be satisfied with 16 kills in the opening game, they bettered this total in their third game, placing 6th with a ginormous 18 kills. While a lot of new teams do experience a honeymoon period this is undoubtedly a very positive start for the new NRG roster.
Sweet, Nafen and who?
The question is, who is the new third player for NRG? With some investigation, the clues all point towards Gilderson from Team Liquid making the switch.
Firstly, Sweet, Nafen and Gild have been playing ranked together more frequently. Of course, pro Apex players all know eachother and they don't just play with their teammates. Playing ranked with someone doesn't mean they are joining your roster.
But, Gilderson has been notably absent from Team Liquid's recent appearances - most notably in the Steelseries 10k. Sikezz has been standing in consistently, further fuelling speculation that Gild is departing. Sometimes players miss tournaments, but Gilderson isn't on a break or a holiday, he's been grinding ranked and playing regularly. Just not with Team Liquid.
Sweet also publicly revealed criterial for their new player. A top 5 controller player, or a mouse and keyboard Gibraltar player. Now, because there was no Gibby used in this debut performance this is another indicator that they have chosen a controller player which Gilderson is.
Finally, digging even deeper, Gilderson has recently followed the NRG manager Jamie on Twitter, and Jamie has recently followed him back. A coincidence? Maybe, but there are plenty of indicators that Gilderson is heading to NRG.
Was it really NRG?
The other obvious question to ask is; was it really NRG? After all, they competed under the team name Bad Boys with all the correct player names.
One of the largest bits of evidence that gives away that this might be NRG is where they dropped. Team Badboys dropped into Staging on Worlds Edge and Checkpoint on Storm Point. These are the two drop spots that NRG land at.
Then there's the actual performance. With the greatest respect to Badboys, the kill heavy 2nd place overall finish was slightly out of step with their usual results. The tournaments casters, seemingly unaware, commented on the sudden change from Badboys.
There has also been a somewhat cryptic tweet from Sweet. The fact he is commenting on a Series E performance isn't usual, and it's certainly a less than subtle hint.
NRG Apex announcement imminent
If NRG are now starting to play together, an announcement must be imminent and a decision made on the new third. As an organization, NRG can afford easily to pick up talented Apex players like Gilderson from other teams.
Exactly who has been playing with NRG and if it was even Sweet, Nafen and Gild at all will surely be confirmed after an official announcement. Stay tuned to esports.gg for updates on Apex Legends competitive.