It has just been revealed by OpTic Gaming that Brad ‘aPG’ Laws has been released from the roster, which has remained unchanged in Halo since February 2022. Commonly known as ‘a pure GOAT’, aPG was a stalwart member of the OpTic roster throughout a dramatic 2022 season that saw the squad secure a world championship win. However, 2023 didn’t pay off quite so well, and unfortunately, changes needed to be made to the team.

On socials, Laws is yet to speak on the news and was instead enjoying a vacation in Japan before heading home and kicking off some Halo streams. As per the OpTic Gaming website, ‘Brad is a legend on the sticks and now a legendary member of OpTic’, but ultimately, someone had to be dropped from the roster, and it’s likely an immense amount of thought went into the change. There’s now a gaping hole in the roster ahead of the 2024 season, and fans are left wondering who is capable of filling it.

Who Will Replace aPG On OpTic?

It was just a couple of weeks ago that ‘Pznguin’ left Spacestation Gaming on amicable terms, following a third-place finish at the Halo World Championship 2023 tournament. He’s widely regarded as one of the best Halo players in the business right now, and at the time of writing, he’s unsigned. He has rebranded during this off-season, dropping the name Pznguin and adopting the ‘Deadzone’ moniker.

In a recent post on Twitter, Deadzone spoke about his name change:

‘Pznguin is dead, time to be a whole new man, need to get healthy and leave my old self behind. This is symbolic of that really.’

So, he could be a solid replacement for aPG on OpTic Gaming. It’s assumed that all OpTic needs to do at this point is reach out and offer him a contract if he is indeed in the running for the spot. Meanwhile, fans poured out their appreciation for Brad ‘aPG’ Laws on OpTic Gaming’s announcement post on Twitter:

In one post, Matt ‘FormaL’ Piper wrote: ‘Will miss you a lot Bradley glad we got some wins together all these years later.’ FormaL is an OpTic Gaming staple and one of just two players to win a world championship title in two different games: Call of Duty and Halo. He has teamed with aPG since he was signed to the squad in February 2022, following his retirement from competitive Call of Duty.

Coincidentally, Anthony ‘Shotzzy’ Cuevas-Castro, another OpTic player (this time for Call of Duty) also praised aPG’s legacy: ‘The greatest to ever do it’. Shotzzy is the other player to have secured a world championship trophy in two games, just like FormaL.

Now that Halo’s off-season has settled in, only time will tell what changes are going to be made.

For more Halo esports news, stay tuned to Esports.net