The ALGS Championship has reached the elimination stage, where the 20 lowest-ranking teams from the group stage are battling to stay in the tournament. However, one Apex Legends team, Aurora, has chosen to compete with only two players instead of their backup, Jose “Uxako” Llosa. This decision comes after they played together as a team in the group stage for the first two days of the event.
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Apex Legends team Aurora is deciding to play with two players instead of the full three due to player disagreements as they compete for $2 million
I am mindblown pic.twitter.com/lic7hD8sYI
— Jake Lucky (@JakeSucky) September 8, 2023
Before the Championship began, Aurora faced an issue when two of their original players, Kiryl “9impulse” Kostsiu and Lev “taskmast33r” Grigoriev, didn’t receive their visas for the event. As a result, they needed to find replacements. According to the ALGS rulebook, in cases like this, teams were allowed to bring in two emergency substitute players. Aurora decided to bring in Uxako and Keenan “Tax” Mackey to fill in for the missing players and represent their team in the Championship.
Welcome to ALGS: Championship 2023 😎
Due to visa issues, we had to invite substitutes to participate in the Champs. Thanks to @Taxington and @UxakoTTV for help.
Important note: if @9impu1se & @taskmast33r can get a visa before/during ALGS, they will arrive and play. pic.twitter.com/YEIqGTvOlm
— Aurora Apex (@AuroraApex_GG) September 5, 2023
9impulse secured his visa and rejoined the lineup with ojrein and Uxako. They struggled in the group stage, finishing 33rd out of 40 teams and moving to the losers bracket. Aurora wanted to replace Uxako with Tax, but the rulebook didn’t allow it because Uxako was a registered starter, while Tax was the emergency sub. Their request was denied since it didn’t qualify as an emergency, leaving them no choice but to continue with their original roster.
So this means Aurora is choosing to play with 2 players. A qualifying emergency would have to occur to allow them to utilize an emergency sub.
— Zac Conely / Tab (@TheeTabris) September 8, 2023
Aurora had no choice but to stick with their original starting roster for the event. However, Uxako revealed more details about the team’s decision-making process, which included an attempt to bypass the substitute rule. They had asked Uxako to pretend to be sick, which would have qualified as a legitimate emergency and allowed Tax to take his place on the team.
The issue here is than even do I was "mad" bout it, I was about to go in and play.
The problem comes when while Im thinking they ask me to say Im sick so Tax could play on it instead of saying like "Lets do it even do it wasnt working as expected"— EiQ Uxako (@UxakoTTV) September 8, 2023
In response to the situation, Uxako decided not to play for the team. Since the rulebook prevented Tax from taking his place, Aurora had no alternative but to continue competing in the event with just two players. Moreover, chat logs from the pre-game lobby showed Uxako’s choice to step back and watch the games as a spectator rather than actively participating in them.
yeah pic.twitter.com/RfXy9B45Ll
— touarangi (@touarangi) September 8, 2023
Aurora, competing as a duo, faced elimination in the first round of the losers bracket, with a bottom 10 finish meaning the end of their 2023 season. Communication issues played a role, with language barriers affecting discussions. Despite attempting to resolve matters with Uxako initially, they suggested he feign sickness when he expressed uncertainty about rejoining the team. Aurora ultimately finished 36th in the ALGS Championship.
— 9impulse (@9Impu1se) September 8, 2023
