ImperialHal explains what has to change about ALGS to keep Apex Legends pro play alive
Joe Brady (@joebradyphoto)/ALGSI got the chance to speak with ImperialHal ahead of the ALGS Final and the upcoming Esports World Cup to ask about the future of competitive Apex Legends and how he’s managed to stay on top for so long.
ImperialHal has earned and defended his title as the CEO of Apex Legends over the past few years. He’s been at or near the top of the world in every Apex competition, he’s one of the game’s top streamers on Twitch, and he’s been carrying TSM’s brand presence for years.
And, though he has a lot of gripes with upcoming ALGS changes and the way the league currently operates, he’s also more determined than ever to continue his legacy within Apex and push himself even harder.
I asked him about how he’s been able to win, what’s keeping him going despite his criticism of the game, and the future he sees in the Apex Legends competitive scene.
ImperialHal slams ALGS Year 4 Split 2 pro changes
For those unaware, the ALGS is making some huge changes to the way competitive Apex Legends works in the near future. Rather than operating like a traditional match with one dropship, teams have to pick their designated drop areas and will have a brief jump in from over top of them. The order in which teams can pick their POI is left up to a draft.
According to Hal, this takes a ton of skill expression out of pro play. He’s vehemently against the change, though he sees why the ALGS is trying to switch things up.
“Before, the main complaint was, in competitive, the dropship would start in random spots. Let’s say you land on the south side of the map, and the dropship starts from the south side of the map. You have an advantage because you land before everyone else, right? That’s the issue people were complaining about. So, they think the way of fixing that is to implement this dropship where everyone gets to pick where they jump and you all jump out at the same time. But now you have this other problem you’re creating where there’s no jump master skill gap.”
The decision-making that comes with having to adapt on the fly and play with the hand that’s dealt to you is just part of the game. That, and the process of picking an area to drop has its own set of drawbacks that are arguably worse than the issue that the initial changes were trying to fix. He was critical of the adjustments when they were announced, and that didn’t change after playing it.
Apex Legends“I think it’s stupid as hell. That’s my opinion. The thing is – I haven’t indulged in too much of it. They gave us some of it to test, but it’s kind of broken. It doesn’t work properly for us to test. So, my opinion is skewed because I’m looking at something that’s broken right now. But, at the same time, the idea of it is just stupid.” Hal explained. “They’re getting rid of the jumpmaster skill gap.
“You’re basically flying out of the same ship as the other team. Most POIs, there’s a vantage point you have to land at. If you don’t, you’re just at a disadvantage off spawn. That’s the biggest issue. You’re making us all spawn in this designated area where I can’t skill gap the other team because we’re both spawning in the same spot.”
There are a lot of mindgames going on here before players even hit the ground, and ImperialHal isn’t looking forward to when these changes get implemented in Split 2. Change isn’t inherently bad for the tournament circuit, but this change isn’t the right way to do things in his eyes.
“There’s no skill to it, you just jump straight down. A Diamond player, a Gold player, anyone can do that. And you can just lose because of RNG as a BR. You can land in the same spot, they get a gun, you don’t get a gun. What do you do? You can be the best in the world, it doesn’t matter if you don’t have a gun in your hand, right? That’s the biggest issue in my opinion.”
However, this wasn’t his only issue with the way Apex Legends competitive currently works.
Finding a future for the Apex Legends and beyond
As is the case in any battle royale, people show up to see their favorite players duking it out. However, when it comes to putting on a full broadcast with casters, observers, and analysts, it’s easy to lose sight of that player. It’s not like there isn’t something to be gained from an actual stream and EA themselves trying to put on a show, but players not being able to stream their perspective from LAN is largely disappointing to ImperialHal.
“They don’t allow the players to stream at LAN. I know most tournaments, or even other games, they don’t do that. It’s always just the main broadcast. Obviously there’s a lot of legality, you don’t want to take viewership from the main channel, they need to meet sponsorship requirements, but… most viewers watch the players. I don’t wanna go out of my way to watch TSM, I wanna watch ImperialHal, or Genburten, or whoever, right? Everyone watches the players. It’d help not only the players but the game to build more personalities and individual viewership if we were able to stream the games at LAN.”
This is something we’ve seen mirrored in some of the world’s biggest esports leagues. tarik consistently outperforms the main Riot broadcast when it comes to Valorant, and the same can be said for Caedrel with League of Legends whether it be big internationals or regional leagues.
Co-streaming is arguably the future of esports, and Apex Legends has an opportunity to bring that sort of experience to their LAN events from the players themselves. He feels that giving people access to his POV will only help the ALGS grow, and that he’s disappointed that he can’t just stream during the year’s biggest international events. With how big Hal’s presence is on Twitch, the ALGS could be leaving hundreds of thousands of potential viewers on the table.
However, he wasn’t all doom and gloom when it came to Apex Legends pro play. The upcoming Esports World Cup has Hal excited for what a new event organizer can do for the game’s pro scene.
“Having the Esports World Cup is probably the best opportunity we’ve had in Apex in the last five years, ever since the game came out. I think it’s huge, I think everyone should be looking forward to it. This will only give more longevity to the game and the esport.”
And, while we don’t yet know what format the EWC will have and whether or not they’ll be adopting the Split 2 changes, there’s a ton of room for a third-party Apex Legends tournament to shake up the way EA looks at their premiere esports league.
What’s more, Hal isn’t looking to quit any time soon. The crown may be heavy, but it’s weight he’s willing to bear the weight for himself and his family.
ImperialHal’s more motivated than ever to dominate Apex Legends
Even though he’s been competing since Apex Legends’ infancy, ImperialHal was still itching to play the entire time he spent travelling away from home for the Esports World Cup promo and other obligations. That competitive itch never leaves his body, and he’s got a lot motivating him to stay on top.
“I try to bring motivation out of even the littlest things. Sometimes, if I – let’s say I have a vacation planned after LAN. In my head, it’s like, ‘I don’t deserve to go on this vacation unless I win,'” Hal claimed. “I’m really competitive, probably the most competitive person in Apex when it comes to mentality. I obviously still love to play the game. I don’t only play tournaments, I still play the regular game even though I have to deal with the BS that comes with it. But… That’s the only way you win. You have to play the game, no matter how hard it is, if you want to get to the top.
“It’s multiple factors. You know, feeling like I deserve to have a break by performing well. Getting paid, everyone’s primary motivation. And also, I retired my dad because he used to be a truck driver. I also feel like I’m responsible not just for myself financially, but for my family. No one else in the family works now, so I cover my family basically. They’re, like, my employees in a way. It’s not a bad thing. Obviously, it’s a lot of pressure for someone like me as a 24 year-old, but, at the same time, I think it’s a good thing. I’m not in a position to have kids and stuff like that, I’m only 24, but for me to learn and understand that at a young age, it’ll only give me an advantage as I get older.”
This stalwart mentality is something Hal maintains with his team as well, pushing the people who are with him on TSM to get better alongside him. He doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to rallying his teammates and trying to find the best way to take home a W, and he sets his expectations high.
“I’m very hard on my teammates. I don’t know how it is in most other games, but… most leaders, they would be considered toxic or having bad behavior, stuff like that, because you yell at teammates and call them names. In my eyes… it’s controversial in a way, when it comes to how an IGL or leader should act in a team. But I think most other teams that aren’t as good, they’re not as strict, they’re not as hard, they let go of mistakes. They’re too nice.
“That’s the biggest thing in my opinion – if you want to get something done, even in a regular work space – you have to be direct. You have to be stern. You have to be determined. You have to just lay down the law. Even if it might be the dumbest thing you can possibly think of when someone makes a mistake, it’s a mistake that might cost you down the road.”
And, while this may sound like a challenging way to lead a team, it’s also a method that has created some of the most legendary runs in Apex history. According to ImperialHal, it’s an environment he thrives in.
“I love being under pressure. I love being doubted. My favorite thing is when people doubt me or doubt the team because, for whatever reason, it gives me the energy to say ‘F**k you, I’m going to win. I’m going to show you who I am, what TSM is.’”