Apex Legends pro Snip3down revealed on Dec. 5 that a currently undefined “vote” took place without his knowledge, removing him as captain of his ALGS team. As a result, he appears to have lost his right to a spot in the pro league.
Snip3down has been signed to FaZe Clan since Oct. 26, 2022, and played in both the ALGS 2023 Split Two Playoffs and the ALGS 2023 Championship for the organization. The pro player, however, alluded to an issue with his team on Nov. 29, saying he had “an extremely hectic and unfortunate day.” He then posted on Nov. 30 advertising he was looking for a team to compete on, without an explanation as to why he was suddenly looking for another opportunity.
It was not until Dec. 05 that he revealed the reasons for his previous posts. He allegedly only confirmed with EA that same day that he had not been able to retain his pro league spot, nor has teammate Slurpee, despite the mystery vote having supposedly come into force on Oct.18. Screenshots of an email from ALGS staff or admin dated Oct. 16, 2023, re-iterate the contents of the ALGS rulebook, confirming that in the case of a team split, his invite should be retained.
As per the ALGS rulebook, roster changes involving the team captain are as follows:
“Roster changes to remove a player from the Team roster or change the Team Captain require a majority vote from Competitors on the Team with the Team Captain breaking any ties.”
This suggests that out of the four team members listed as being representatives of FaZe, at least two must have voted for him to be removed from his position. In line with the rulebook, this vote would have occurred via two players independently emailing ALGS League Operations with a request to change the team captain.
In a screenshot of a Discord message, Snip3down revealed the team spot previously belonging to him is now held by Phony and Frexs. He and Slurpee are cited as no longer being on the team, and the slot is retained by Phony as team captain and Frexs.
Snip3down has confirmed that he was never contacted about a team vote taking place to remove him as captain. For him to be removed, he should have been contacted so that a majority vote could be determined among the players. “There was never an email chain regarding a vote, nor was I ever informed of one taking place,” he said.
The loss of Snip3down and Slurpee’s pro league slot has raised several significant questions that the ALGS has yet to answer. Firstly, Phonyhead and Frexs posted advertising that they are seeking an organization to represent with Xynew for Year Four of the ALGS on Nov. 30. They are remaining with their coach, DanApex. Therefore, the FaZe roster has fractured.
FaZe was, however, announced as a partnered organization under the new EA Year 4 partner team program on Nov. 30. This program provides teams in question with a financial stipend for their competitive program, additional media opportunities, media training, options for licensed tournament hosting, and more.
Now that Phonyhead and Frexs are confirmed to be seeking a new team, with Snip3down and Slurpee losing their pro league slot, nobody knows who is actually on the FaZe roster. Despite announcing they are looking for an organization, Phonyhead and Frexs are still listed as being pro players for FaZe in their social media biographies.
How Phonyhead and Frexs conducted a vote to remove Snip3down as team captain is also unknown. Slurpee allegedly did not participate in any vote, meaning the vote was not complete if it did occur.
This confusion and apparent void in communication between players, FaZe, and ALGS organizational staff has alluded to a potential undisclosed power held by partnered teams. As a partnered team, FaZe almost certainly has a roster for ALGS Year Four. It was assumed that this roster would include the players signed to their organization who had been invited to compete in the pro league, as is custom.
Clearly, this is no longer the case. As hinted by TSM player manager minustempo, FaZe may have additional, undisclosed power due to being on the EA partner program. This would explain how it was able to apparently fully release its roster, enact changes to its listed team captain, and essentially remove Snip3down and Phonyhead from the ALGS pro league without their knowledge.
If this is the case, EA has several questions that must be answered. Are partnered teams allowed to make changes to their rosters in a way that is undefined in the ALGS rulebook? Have methods of conducting a vote to change a team captain changed? Will Snip3down and Phonyhead need to re-qualify for the pro league through the Preseason Qualifier?
Evidently, there are changes behind the scenes to how rosters are managed, or a teammate is being untruthful about their voting actions. Regardless, Snip3down appears to have unfairly lost a previously earned spot in the pro league and will have an uphill battle to get it back.
