In a shocking roster move, ImperialHal ended his five-year stint with North American giants TSM today to team with his rivals from DarkZero, joining Genburten and Zer0 to form an Apex Legends super team. The nicknamed “CEO” will renounce his IGL role to follow Zer0’s leadership.
TSM and DarkZero’s rosters have a fiery rivalry in the ALGS, with both teams holding three LAN titles. Until Reject Winnity’s dominant performance at the most recent Split One Playoffs, no other team had won a LAN trophy. At the crux of this rivalry was the battle of the IGLs. Although ImperialHal has long been dubbed the “CEO” for his IGL prowess, Zer0 is considered by many to be the best IGL in the game due to his intense attention to detail and strict team control.
Immediately after announcing his roster move on X (formerly Twitter) today, ImperialHal confirmed that Zer0 will remain the IGL on the team, throwing into question which roles he and Genburten will fill. Both players have the potential to be strong fraggers, but Genburten has been more able to play in line with this aggressive role on DarkZero.
ImperialHal, on the other hand, has been TSM’s IGL for a significant time, so he may be forced into a more anchor/support playstyle. Nevertheless, if DarkZero’s famously brutal damage-heavy strategy continues after welcoming the “CEO,” all of the team members will be landing on the map with kill points in mind.
ImperialHal’s move to the DarkZero roster also casts doubt over TSM’s future in competitive Apex Legends. The organization is now lacking a full roster ahead of Split Two of the 2024 ALGS season and the upcoming Esports World Cup. Although some would expect the organization to remain in the ALGS, especially after spending several years with one of the most dominant rosters in the game, this high-profile departure could foreshadow more dramatic changes on the horizon.
Before ImperialHal’s transfer to DarkZero, TSM released its coach, Raven, who helped guide the team to their Split One Playoffs and ALGS Championship victories in 2023. The only remaining members of the squad are 29-year-old Reps and 21-year-old Verhulst, who have not yet clarified their position with TSM following ImperialHal’s announcement.
After TSM’s post on May 9 about its preparations for the Esports World Cup, Verhulst commented that he’s “super excited for this” but did not add any extra information that would confirm he’s participating. Verhulst and Reps also posted cryptic GIFs and images on their profiles six days before their roster was partially disbanded, with each player referencing broken chains.
Before DarkZero fans celebrate being owners of the first true Apex super team, the organization has yet to post any confirmation on its social media channels that the roster will compete under its branding. The players have referenced “teaming” with one another, but none of them have said that ImperialHal is joining DarkZero as an organization. With that in mind, the super team may well have other plans in mind.
For now, the roster itself is ready to compete. Whether ImperialHal, Genburten, and Zer0 will represent any current ALGS-involved organization, on the other hand, is a mystery.
