Twitch star Nick ‘NICKMERCS’ Kolcheff has hit back at critics claiming he “doesn’t belong” in Apex Legends’ pro scene amid comparisons between himself and teams like TSM.
While a number of esports have gone down the route of franchise models, Apex Legends’ competitive scene is set up so that, theoretically, a trio of upstarts can rub shoulders with the best players in the world.
After getting to Apex Predator rank a few seasons back, NICKMERCS started competing in challenger tournaments to try and earn a spot amongst the cream of the crop. It took a few tries, but his Tripods team eventually made it and are now competing in the North American side of ALGS play.
Given that he’s a massive streamer and sometimes moves on to play other games, the FaZe Clan star has been criticized by a few players and viewers as not having the skill to compete at the top level. Though, he’s not overly fussed by those thoughts.
NICKMERCS fires back at critics claiming he should “quit” Apex Legends pro league
It was something that was brought up during a recent stream when one viewer urged Nick to “quit” playing Apex as he’s “not built” for the competitive level. He couldn’t let that stand.
“You’re telling a guy that has been pro in 3-4 different titles that he doesn’t belong. Listen, I might not be the best, ok fine, but what? You’ve got to be out of your f*cking mind if you really think that,” Nick fired back.
“I know that I’m not as good as a lot of people in Pro League, I definitely know that, but I have said plenty of times that skill is not the only thing that gets you there. I think that what I lack in skill I make up for in a lot of other areas. Work ethic, energy, communication, strategy, positioning, decisions, so yeah.
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“There’s no confusion or question as to why I’m doing 12-hour days on Apex, I’m trying to get better. I definitely know that the skill is not there and we’re working on it every day, that’s what you do, but you acting like I have this understanding that I don’t belong is f*cking crazy. You’re crazy.”
The Twitch star noted that comparisons between himself and squads like TSM and NRG are off base, given that those types of teams have been competing for years anyway.
Just the fact that he’s made it into Pro League and has been competitive should be enough to shut down plenty of criticisms, never mind the fact that plenty of pros have also tipped their cap to his skills.
