XSET Acquires Team Liquid’s Apex Legends Roster

XSET has announced their return to competitive Apex Legends. They are acquiring the former Apex Legends Team Liquid roster, including Brandon “oh Nocturnal” Singer, Brandon “FunFPS” Groombridge and Nicholas “Sikezz” Odom along with Head Coach Haris “Hodsic” Hodzic.

The roster, which has already qualified for LAN, will debut under the XSET banner in Sunday's regional finals.

This announcement comes just a day after Team Liquid officially announced the departure of their roster. Now, it is clear why. In their statement Liquid said that they waived buyout clauses to allow their former roster to depart easily.

XSET will be immediately back at the very top of the Apex esports scene with this acquisition. The former Team Liquid roster sit second overall in the NA Pro League standings. Furthermore, mathematically XSET are qualified for the Split One playoffs.

Recent results aside, this new XSET roster has a track record of success. A key acquisition is Head Coach Hodsic. He has helped to transform this roster and build a fantastic game plan that has delivered success.

The value that Hodsic brings was best seen in Sweden at the ALGS Split two playoffs in the 2021-22 season. Liquid performed fantastically and took second overall. This was thanks to Hodsic pioneering the use of Loba on Storm Point. Team Liquid were the first team to master a playstyle on Storm Point when it was added to the ALGS. Additionally, they have maintained their strength on the map through several metas.

Critics said that this success came down to Gilderson. One of the best controller players anywhere in the world, he was a big factor behind Liquid's success. He was then poached by NRG.

It was suggested that without one of the best controller players in the world, Liquid would struggle to compete. But, since Sikezz joined the roster they have continued to go from strength to strength. Of course, this is helped by Sikezz also being a very talented controller player.

However, what is clear to see is that the way that Hodsic, and IGL Nocturnal set their team up, is based on a strong 'macro' game plan that does not revolve around any one specific player. This is a key factor behind their consistency and their success. Clearly, the track record of success that this roster has will have been a key draw for XSET in this aquisitiuon.

Speaking on the announcement, XSET CEO Greg Selkoe pointed to their ambitions for a winning culture.

“We’ve seen the rapid growth of the Apex Legends Global Series League, we knew we had to participate and make a huge impact if we were to enter.

"Since the beginning of XSET, we’ve always wanted to cultivate a winning culture no matter what game or collaboration we entered. With Nocturnal, FunFPS, Sikezz, and Hodsic leading the charge into Apex Legends, we’re only going to continue that tradition.”

XSET have been involved in Apex Legends before. Most recently this was with the roster known as 'SZN'. They never found major success, winning inly a few minor tournaments and never breaking into the top 10 of an the ALGS Pro League. They will have much higher expectations for this roster than their previous stay in Apex Legends.

In addition, this signing clearly sets out XSET's ambitions to establish themselves at the top of the Apex Legends scene. They will have a fantastic chance to find some instant success. Their new roster could win Pro League on Sunday, and be LAN Champions in just 2 months time.

Despite all the drama and attention around this roster change, for the players it is going to be business as usual on Sunday. The acquisition of the entire team means the transition will be smooth. It is notable that the new XSET team has performed incredibly strongly despite the disruption of being set for release by Team Liquid.

XSET IGL Nocturnal told esports.gg "We're really looking forward to a new scenery and new faces to call a family and home. Happy that this was incredibly smooth and looking forward to be able to play our own game without any worries anymore. We're here to stay as a team and here to continue dominating under XSET."

The new XSET roster play on Sunday in the Regional Finals. Even though their LAN spot is mathematically secured, they are still competing for points towards the overall standings. This means that a strong performance could see them surpass TSM and take home first place in the Pro League. This matters, as first place would secure them a better seeding for playoffs. Of course, it also means more prize money too.

For coverage of this weekends Regional Finals, and all other things Apex Legends, stay tuned to esports.gg.