In the most shocking upheaval in the history of Apex Legends esports, a third of last year’s ALGS Championship lobby risks elimination in the lower bracket at today’s Split One playoffs. Reigning champs TSM finished the winner’s bracket in 17th after a sluggish performance—much to the disappointment of their home crowd.
After a turbulent round one losers bracket where scores were separated by single points, hopes for a more clear-cut winner’s leaderboard were dashed by an incomprehensibly volatile block. Several of the most dominant teams in 2023 seemed incapable of gaining any momentum, finding themselves glued to the bottom of the pack while underdog teams soared with APAC squads the biggest benefactors.
APAC North and South teams Fnatic, REJECT WINNITY, Serenity, and Virtus.Pro all secured top 10 positions. Meanwhile Alliance, Spacestation Gaming, Legends Gaming, TSM, Complexity, and FURIA must all fight to keep their place in a tournament with so many twists and turns.
The true stars of Saturday were British squad o7. Still free agents and proving to anyone who will watch that they have what it takes, Gnaske, Naghz, and Amphy shot from the gutter to the final qualification threshold at the last second, snatching victory in game six and cruelly denying North American team Elev8 Gaming a place in the top 10. The dramatic game was enough for them to win the tiebreaker with Elev8 based on the highest placement achieved in the block.
“We know how good we are,” Naghz reminded the Apex community in his group stage interview with Dot Esports. After their impeccable clutch, ALGS viewers cannot deny that his confidence is well-founded.
Perhaps the most unpredictable, unprecedented, and overwhelming losers bracket ever seen in the ALGS now features the likes of TSM battling the titan teams who already fought through the first block of the day, including Disguised and Luminosity Gaming. Regardless of how hard those in the lobby fight, some of the best teams in Apex history will go home pondering what could have possibly gone so wrong.
The second round of the loser’s bracket is live right now, with the top 10 teams making it to tomorrow’s grand final lobby for a shot at the Split One title and a cool $300,000 USD prize.
