NICKMERCS returns to Apex Legends despite claiming the community “despises” him

Months after exiting Apex Legends’ competitive scene, streamer NICKMERCS has returned to the multiplayer shooter.

Popular streamer Nick ‘NICKMERCS’ Kolcheff went pro in 2022 upon joining the North American ALGS Pro League. Such a turn happened just months after he began taking the game more seriously in the fall of 2021.

However, he did not remain an ALGS pro for very long. NICKMERCS left the league in early 2024, announcing his return to Call of Duty and slamming the “corny” Apex community on his way out the door, claiming that other pros and prominent players in the scene “despise” him.

In yet another shocking turn of events, the content creator rejoined the Apex Legends space on September 3, 2024 by streaming the game on Twitch. “We’re back,” he wrote in a social media post announcing the broadcast.

NICKMERCS’ comeback to the Apex Legends grind follows on the heels of a tweet from September 1, wherein he told followers, “[I] definitely miss gaming competitively… Me & that damn controller are itching to get back to work. The question is, which game.”

The very next post came two days later with a link to his Apex Legends stream on Twitch. Whether or not this means he plans on returning to Apex-centric pro leagues presently remains up in the air, as he’s yet to share anything concrete.

NICKMERCS had also gone on a streaming hiatus for a few weeks over the summer. The internet star later explained his prologued absence as a response to the fact that not a lot of games were “tickling [his] fancy” at the time.

Evidently, something made him want to give Apex Legends a second chance. And, since developer Respawn Entertainment kicked off Season 22 on August 6 with a new map and gameplay adjustments, now seems as good a time as any for a comeback.