OpTic Halo Team Announces Big Changes

OpTic Gaming's Halo lineup, which won the Halo World Championship 2022, has just seen its first change in nearly two years after OpTic announced the departure of aPG. The 28-year-old, who joined the team in November 2021, has established himself as a key member of OpTic Gaming and played a significant role in the team's road to the Halo World Championship 2022 title.

However, despite his status as one of the best Halo esports players in the world, aPG was let go from OpTic on Thursday in a shock move no one expected to happen. As explained by OpTic, while the team acknowledges what aPG has brought to the team, OpTic felt like changes had to be made after the painful ending to the 2023 season.

The departure of aPG also brings up an important question of who will fill in the big void in OpTic Gaming's roster, as there aren't many players in the scene that can fill aPG's shoes. Yet, the fans seem to agree that Zane "Penguin" Hearon is one of the possible candidates to take over for aPG.

The 25-year-old parted ways with Spacestation Gaming at the start of November, shortly following SSG's third-place finish at Halo World Championship 2023 and is still unsigned. And while Penguin has yet to win a Halo world championship, he has proven himself as one of the top players in the scene.

Penguin had a very successful season with Cloud9 in 2022, when he placed second in Halo World Championship 2022, and continued posting great results as a member of SSG in 2023. He helped the team place second at Halo Championship Series 2023: Global Invitational – DreamHack, Arlington Major, and Fort Worth Major before finishing the year with a bronze medal from Halo World Championship 2023, marking his second consecutive top-three finish at the season-culminating event.

But while Penguin seems like the most likely replacement for aPG, OpTic nor Penguin has yet to comment on a possible signing.