In an announcement on Wednesday evening that confirmed longstanding rumors, Esports Arena Apex Legends player Evan “Verhulst” Verhulst officially announced that he would be joining TSM for the remainder of the ALGS Pro League.
With the departure of Eric “Snip3down” Wrona from the team, one of pro Apex’s most popular squads needed a third to fill out their roster. Enter Verhulst, who burst onto the pro scene less than a year ago alongside teammates Ira “dooplex” Shepherd and William “Skittlecakes” August. The trio, appearing as both Dudes Night Out and Team Intel before finally becoming ESA’s first-ever signed pro team, cut their teeth during the ALGS offseason and rocketed straight to the top of the Pro League leaderboard in season two of the competition.
To say Verhulst’s rise was fast is an understatement. While his teammates had previous professional Apex experience, Verhulst is the newest pro most likely to qualify for the first split playoffs from North America. Verhulst and his trademark Valkyrie made waves despite having only a few months of pro experience under his belt.
In addition to filling the proverbial shoes of Snip3down, Verhuist also has to meet the lofty expectations of TSM, who remain one of Apex’s most consistent and historically successful teams. IGL Phillip “ImperialHal” Dosen and longtime teammate Jordan “Reps” Wolfe are respectively considered two of the best players in the game in their respective roles, and the squad will be expecting to not only qualify for playoffs, but to place well there.
The announcement suggested there was still some paperwork or other considerations to complete before Verhulst officially joins TSM, but with Esports Arena announcing the move on their own channel and Verhulst listed on TSM’s competitive roster for the coming weekend’s ALGS matches, the official announcement from TSM should be soon.
ESA will continue on in the competition with new third Logan “knoqd” Layou, who joins the North American leaders after last playing in ALGS with Torrent. Both TSM and ESA are currently in a position to qualify for LAN playoffs with only two more lobbies to play in the regular season.
