The start of Split Two was too rough. They couldn’t handle the new meta. Hal was taking a break from Apex Legends. Whatever the reason, it seemed like a sure bet that when TSM entered their sixth match day of ALGS Split Two on April 29, they wouldn’t be playing for LAN qualification.
And that’s why you never bet against TSM Apex.
The TSM boys were in vintage form, only failing to capture points in one of the six games played in their penultimate match day before the North American Regional Final. And, needing a statement win both to help their mathematical chances of qualifying for LAN and possibly to raise their own spirits leading into the last games of the split, they made a definitive one on Storm Point in game three with a monumental 19-kill victory.
As far as winning an Apex match goes, this game featured everything that made TSM the virtual consensus pick for the best team in the world following their Split One Playoffs victory. The team identified the endgame location quickly as Highpoint, right next to their Storm Point home landing spot at The Wall. The team executed a clever Valkyrie ultimate behind the mountains that form the boundary on the very northern edge of the map, before slamming into free-agent squad SCS in the closest building.
A lesser team might have crumbled right then and there, especially as IGL ImperialHal almost immediately fell upon landing. But teammates Verhulst and Reps were quick to respond with two knocks of their own, and reviving ImperialHal, the team asserted control over the best spot in the game.
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Thanks to that combination of guile and gunskill, TSM was rewarded with a safe view of fight after fight happening around them. The team refused to let any other squad establish themselves near their building. As soon as a team peeked out across from the other building or try to set up a safe space for themselves in the bunker just below TSM, the NA titans were quick to pounce, and even dispatched a high-flying FURIA squad that tried getting a little too cozy next to them.
Controlling space masterfully and confidently taking fights, the victory for TSM was almost a foregone conclusion as Complexity was forced to push in towards TSM’s high ground advantage atop the house, and FaZe simply had to wait things out for a second-place finish on the game. TSM collected 31 points, more than double their total points on the day.
There were other highlights from the TSM boys that were vital to their overall victory on the matchday, like Reps’ one-vs-two clutch mid-way through the final game that ensured TSM an extra three points as well as better placement. That proved decisive, as the team only won by two points over LANimals on the overall scoreboard. But it was the full-team effort that shone through on the day and kept TSM alive in the hunt for LAN, which ImperialHal acknowledged on his stream after the games were finished.
TSM isn’t out of the woods yet. With the other two NA groups still to play another matchday before the Regional Final, TSM will likely drop out of the top 11 spots that qualify for LAN in North America and will need a strong result in the Regional Final to make LAN. But the fact that that qualification is now well within their reach is a small miracle in and of itself and is a testament to the best team that pro Apex has ever seen.
You can beat TSM down, you can push them back and seemingly get rid of them. The squad simply refuses to die. And if you leave them hanging around long enough, they will win another trophy.
