Apex Legends star Philip ‘ImperialHal’ Dosen has explained why he believes Nick ‘NICKMERCS’ Kolcheff is the “weak link” of his Tripods squad in competitive play.
With the top level of Apex Legends ranked play being set up the way it is, it’s not difficult for some ambitious players to transition from being a ranked grinder to having a shot at the ALGS.
In the case of NICKMERCS, the former Gears of War pro made the switch from Warzone to Apex Legends and hasn’t looked back, with his Tripods squad working their way through challenging qualifiers to reach the ALGS proper in the backend of 2022.
Given that he’s a streamer and comes from other games, Nick has found himself on the end of criticism and constructive feedback more than his teammates, especially with regard to his mechanics and game sense.
ImperialHal praises NICKMERCS “potential” despite being ALGS “weak link”
It was something ImperialHal noted as he appeared on ClaraAtWork’s ALGS watch party as discussed Nick’s potential moving forward.
The TSM star was pushed to name the “weakest link” of Nick’s Tripods team. “Nick! It’s so obvious,” he said, pointing to Nick’s mechanics. “Right now, the meta is considered that you have to have mechanical skill and Nick doesn’t have that.”
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“The meta does not fit him. He has potential, he has so much room to grow, he just doesn’t fit in the meta right now as a player,” Hal added. “He’s so far behind all the other players that have been playing for a while. If the meta was more like Caustic and Gibby, it wouldn’t really matter that Nick’s mechanical skills are bad.”
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Nick currently plays the Seer role for his squad, but as Hal notes, he doesn’t quite have the mind of an in-game leader to play the character to its full potential.
As the meta shifts with character changes, a meta might pop up that totally suits Nick. Though, it’s hard to bet against him having success in some way or another given how far he’s gotten to this point.