Why You Should Watch The Apex Legends Global Series
The Apex Legends Global Series (ALGS) is the official esports league for Apex Legends. The ALGS is sponsored and produced by EA and Respawn Entertainment itself. The ALGS serves as an opportunity for Apex Legends players to test their skills against the rest of the world for a chance at over $3 million in prize money.
Originally scheduled to kick off in March of this year, the ALGS ended up getting postponed due to the global pandemic of COVID-19. Now, competitive Apex is back, starting with the ALGS Autumn Circuit beginning on October 3.
Whether you're a hardcore Apex Legends fanatic or just a casual player, there's a ton to get excited about. Let's dive into all the reasons you as a reader should tune in to the upcoming Apex Legends Global Series.
Input Method Variety
Apex Legends is unique in that its competitive scene has a mix of top tier talent spread across multiple input methods. Other esports like Call of Duty or PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) are exclusive to one input method. This fact makes Apex Legends incredibly inclusive for newcomers and experienced players alike. It doesn't matter if use a controller or a mouse and keyboard; there is a pro out there on the same equipment as you.
A Melting Pot of Esports Legends
The Apex Legends competitive scene is home to some of the biggest legends in all of esports. Apex Legends has served as a melting pot for competitors from all sorts of other titles. Names like Mendo, dizzy, Snipe3down, and ace all have sunk significant time into the game. These players came to Apex from major titles like Overwatch, Halo, and Counter-Strike. Some have moved on, but others like Snip3down continue to thrive.
Speaking of Snip3down, viewers of the ALGS will get to witness perhaps the greatest controller player of all-time. Before moving to Apex, Snip3down was revered in the Halo community as one of the best to ever do it. As a Halo pro, Snip3down won 24 major tournaments, including a gold medal at the X Games.
Snip3down decided to take his talents to Apex Legends and saw instant success. Snip3down led his team to another X Games medal, this time in Apex Legends. A different game of an entirely different genre - it didn't matter to Snip3down. Snip3down proved he could compete amongst the top mouse and keyboard players. Snip3down is the only individual to ever win two X Games medals in two different titles.
The ALGS is an opportunity to watch not just the top Apex Legends players, but some of the best in all of esports, period.
Click to enlargeCompetitive Parity
In the early days of Apex Legends, there wasn’t much parity between teams. Team SoloMid (TSM) was a step above everyone. From September 2019 to March 2020, TSM won pretty much every tournament. The team was considered sort of a dynasty after winning five major tourneys in a row. TSM was just way ahead of the game in terms of strategy and the meta.
In the time since, however, the gap in skill disparity has shrunk significantly. While still a top org, TSM is no longer guaranteed to finish first. They’ve been upset on more than one occasion by teams like Rogue, NRG, and Team Liquid. The competition is as fierce as ever, and now is the perfect time to get invested as a fan.
- Read More - Who Is The Best Apex Legends Character?
Advanced Metagame
Apex Legends has arguably the deepest metagame of any Battle Royale. The unique focus on Legends and their abilities allows for endless tinkering and strategising. Throughout Apex Legends lifespan we’ve seen teams pull out all kinds of team compositions.
At first, it was all about scouting and setting up for the endgame. Teams would run Wraith, Pathfinder, and Wattson. With Pathfinder, teams could figure out where the circle would close ahead of time. Using this info, they could find a building and set up Wattson fences at all the entrances. This was a high-level strategy at the time and extremely hard to counter.
Nowadays, Bloodhound, Lifeline, and Wraith is a popular team comp. Bloodhound’s scan is almost required at this point. The information it provides is unmatched, and gives a major advantage from early to endgame. Lifeline has debatably the best passive in the game right now. Using her drone, she can revive teammates from a distance while protecting them with a shield. This allows her to stay in the fight and even revive another teammate at the same time.
Probably the best example of the metagame was when TSM pulled out a Crypto, Revenant, and Wraith comp during a major event. This comp had never been showcased before. Crypto and Revenant were seldom picked in competitive Apex Legends matches. However, TSM formulated an insane strategy synergising all of these Legends’ unique abilities.
The comp worked like this: Wraith sets up a portal right outside the building where another team is camping. Crypto then flies his drone over and EMPs the enemy team, destroying any Wattson fences and removing the opponents’ shields. Using Revenant’s Death Totem, Wraith, Crypto, and Revenant all burst through the portal and onslaught the EMP’d team. With the Death Totem, players essentially have two lives, so the Crypto, Wraith, Revenant team can immediately go back through the portal and finish up the job. This spontaneous team comp was the perfect counter to defensive teams that liked to post up in buildings.
The potential to mix and match the abilities of different Legends adds a whole new facet to Apex Legends. No other Battle Royale allows for this kind of advanced strategy and counterstrategy.
Competitive Apex Legends has a lot going for it. Top personalities from around esports have flocked to the hero shooter meets Battle Royale. The unique Legends and their abilities drive an ever-evolving metagame based on coordinated tactics and synergies. Competitive parity is at an all-time high. Players from different titles, using different input methods, and in various orgs, are all in a tight race for the #1 spot. Tune in to the Apex Legends Global Series on October 3, and hot-drop into the action.
Stay tuned here @GGReconEsports for Apex Legends news, guides, features, and more.
Images via Respawn Entertainment
