Apex Legends to get Global Series esports circuit
The most recent Apex Legends tournament had barely finished, before new Esports tidings arrived on the game's scene. And they were good, this time coming straight from the top.
EA and Respawn have announced that they will bring their title an official pro circuit in 2020. Until now the game has had to depend on third-party offerings to scratch its competitive itch. Individual events will still be produced in collaboration with some of these partners.
Structure
The newly announced Apex Legends Global Series will play out in a number of ways.
First, there are the Online Tournaments. Powered by Battlefy, these allow players to accrue Apex Legends Global Series Points, which can be used to qualify for live events.
Then there are the Challenger Events. Billed as regional live events, they offer a reserved Major spot to their best.
And last for the initial phases of the Series, there are Premier Events. Premier Events are also offline and will pit the top online competitors from different regions against each other. The top performers here receive advanced Major placement invitations. The Premiers will be sponsored and operated by PGL and GLL.
Finals
All of the above sets the field for the Majors. This foursome of offline events will have a prize pool of $500,000 each. The last of their number is known as the Apex Legends Global Series Championship, which will see the top 60 Global Series teams duke it out. Here a cool $1 million in winnings is available.
Schedule
In total the Apex Legends Global Series will have over $3 million up for grabs. It is open to PC players from a set of 60 countries. The latter limitation may sound strange, but is something competitors like Fortnite have started doing as well to comply with US sanctions and the like.
The dates for the Series' first events have been announced as follows:
- January 25 and 27: Online qualifiers for the first Major.
- February 29 and March 2: Online qualifiers for the first Premier.
- March 13-15: The first Major will take place in Arlington, Texas.
More future event dates and details on how to follow proceedings are promised soon through the Series' website. Player registration has now opened there as well.
Images via Electronic Arts