Yet another Apex team loses pro league spot as more preseason TOS violations mount up

The third time's the charm?

An image of Apex Legends character Horizon using an electrical weapon against Mirage.
Screengrab via Respawn Entertainment

In a shocking turn of events, yet another Apex Legends team has lost their chance to compete in the pro league after being banned for terms of service violations. 

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MDY Red, who won the fourth week of APAC South preseason qualifiers, were confirmed to have been removed from their qualifying position on Dec 19. The news broke after the official Apex Esports accounts announced which teams are advancing after qualifiers. MDY Red was not on the list of teams, leading APAC-South guru im_b_rad to confirm the team had been banned. Allegedly, the players participated in collusion, which is explicitly banned in the official ALGS rulebook. 

A list of all the teams that have qualified for the Apex Legends Global Series 2024 Pro League season
The published list of ALGS qualified teams. Image via PlayApexEsports

Under the official guidelines, collusion is defined broadly with numerous examples. EA has yet to specify which instances relate to MDY Red’s ban. However, other members of the ALGS community believe they have pinpointed the exact actions that violated EA’s rules.

According to ALGS content creator and reporter JMeyels, MDY Red was convinced in a Discord message by EXC player Walsh to switch POI, landing on another team named Farmers Market in game five of the final. MDY Red were already in a solid qualifying position based on points, so were evidently able to afford last-minute changes in their plan. Their decision to land on Farmers Market led to their untimely elimination, benefitting EXC.

A screenshot from the official ALGS rule book stating the following: A2. Collusion and Match-Fixing Policy Any action or agreement to disadvantage other Competitors to predetermine the outcome of a match, to try to lose a match, to affect the fairness of the ALGS, or to limit efforts to win a match is strictly prohibited. Any Competitors determined by EA to be violating this rule at any phase in the ALGS may be removed from the ALGS. Such Competitors may be forced to forfeit or return any compensation and/or prizes and may have their EA and/or Game accounts suspended. Examples of collusion include, but are not limited to: ● Intentionally losing a match for any reason at any portion of an Event; ● Playing on behalf of another Competitor, including using a secondary account, to aid them during any portion of an Event; ● Any form of match-fixing or communication with other Competitors or Coaches related to match play or strategy; ● “Soft play”, defined as a Competitor not giving their best effort or not taking reasonable and fair actions to gain advantages against their opponent(s) in a match; ● Agreeing to split prize money; and ● Allowing an opponent to score more or less points than they normally would to impact the rankings.
Collusion, as defined by the official ALGS rule book. Screenshot via ALGS website

Following MDY Red’s ban, team Ocean Turtle, the next in line to qualify based on points accumulated over the preseason, will be competing in the APAC South pro league instead.

Astonishingly, this marks the third time in the space of a week a competitive Apex team participating in the ALGS preseason qualifiers has had its chance to compete in the pro league ripped away. Two days before the final weekend of qualifiers, EMEA team Redragon had two players banned for TOS violations relating to IP issues. Redragon were in an incredibly promising position to qualify and protested their ban heavily.

On Dec. 18, the region was hit with yet another shock twist. Three Dragons player Sunzyyy was banned mere hours before the EMEA preseason final, leaving his two teammates competing as a duo. Despite the two remaining players displaying impressive resolve, the absence of Sunzyyy meant they could not qualify. Mande and Shiv’s team, “40%worse”, were confirmed to take the team’s place earlier on Dec. 19.

These three high-profile bans in less than seven days have raised alarming questions surrounding EA and Respawn’s management of cheating. Up to six players are involved in these incidents, and the issues were not identified by EA until extremely late, causing immense confusion across multiple ALGS regions.  

Hopes are this is the last ban impacting Apex pro league qualifications for 2024 and each region can finally prepare for the new season, starting Jan. 20. However, nobody can be sure considering these last few days. If there is one thing ALGS Year Four has taught us already, it is that nothing is certain in competitive Apex until it’s all wrapped up.