Apex Legends‘ EMEA Pro League continued this Sunday afternoon, when Team Empire carved a narrow victory over Reply Totem and SCARZ in the contest between groups C and D.
With just two days of competition remaining before the league ends, teams scrambled to lock in spots at the Stockholm LAN at the end of April, while those in danger of demotion from Pro League fought tooth and nail to keep their place. Only the top 10 EMEA teams will go to Stockholm, and the field is narrow around that magic threshold.
The first three games were played on World’s Edge. Game one went down west of The Tree, where Empire got off to a strong start with their Mad Maggie pick, shutting the door on Morning Stars in a confident endgame.
Game two developed west of Epicenter, where fighting for control of the circle’s relatively safe building broke out early. In the mid-game, Players, the best pure fighting team in the lobby and possibly the entire Pro League, took out Empire and ATK in quick succession before falling to Reply Totem. Before Reply Totem themselves could reset, 789 swooped in for a classic third party. 789, the unsigned Russian team that nearly won the last Apex LAN back in 2019, are playing from Turkey after the ALGS ban on teams in Russia. They started the day in 37th place overall, well outside contention for a place at the Stockholm LAN but in grave danger of being relegated from Pro League entirely.
The final game on World’s Edge finished with a low-ground circle southeast of Lava Siphon, where Vexed, 69iQ, Reply Totem, and Underrated all made it to the endgame. 69iQ, who were playing with Caustic and Gibraltar, looked well-positioned to win, but Vexed Gaming’s Crypto play prevailed. The field remained close, and the leading squads had no room for error going into the second half of the series.
The latter three games were played on Storm Point. In game four, competitors searched for safe havens in Cenote Cave. SCARZ and Players had excellent positioning going into the endgame, and SCARZ prevailed with a near-perfect Ash Phase Breach. Empire also came away with their share of points in that game.
Game five turned Fish Farms into a killing field, where teams struggled to survive without many options for good cover. The lone building in the circle was fully occupied. K1CK were its primary tenants, while Invictus played the basement, and Players took the roof. Vexed Gaming and T-Rex were in the mix, too, and it came down to a one-vs-one between Invictus and T-Rex, where T-Rex eked out a win.
Empire led the pack going into the last game, but only by 12 points. Players and Reply Totem were close on their heels, tied for second. SCARZ, who had looked so good earlier in the day, were falling behind in the standings. But they showed up with a colossal performance in the last game, exterminating Rats outside North Pad and getting 14 kills for an impressive 26-point round. Mikkel “Mande” Hestbek grabbed seven kills in that finale.
These teams only have one more day to qualify for the Stockholm LAN. Six matches will determine their fate in the Pro League action tomorrow starting at 11am CT, where many teams will need an outright win to punch their ticket to the second split’s $1 million conclusion.
