A preview of the big $119,000 NA playoff lobby this weekend, and the year in review

This is The Final Circle, a newsletter about Apex Legends

As the year winds down, Apex fans are getting an early Christmas present:

Zac Conely / Tab @TheeTabris

ALGS Autumn Circuit Playoff Schedule 🔸APAC North - 6 PM (JST) on Dec 19th 🔸South America - 2 PM (BRT) on Dec 19th 🔸North America - 3 PM (PST) on Dec 19th 🔹APAC South - 3 PM (SGT) on Dec 20th 🔹EMEA - 4 PM (GMT) on Dec 20th

It’s time to watch the best in Apex fight to determine the winners of the Autumn Circuit, so grab a drink and some snacks and settle in.

A total of $451,000 is up for grabs across North America ($119,000), South America ($119,000), Europe, Middle East and Africa ($119,000), Asia Pacific North ($47,000), and Asia Pacific South ($47,000).

Here are my top picks for teams to watch in North America:

Team Liquilelie

As they prepared to go into the Last Chance Qualifier chasing their playoff spot, I wrote that “Team Liquilelie is another powerhouse squad who needs to clutch up today…this reformulated Team Liquid has been inconsistent, displaying brilliant, high-level play on some days and confusions and miscommunications on others, something that may have to do with the roster’s lack of a definitive IGL for now.”

Well, they clutched up hard in their LCQ—with a win and two second place finishes with oodles of kills, they looked cool and confident throughout.

Albralelie continues to assert himself on this roster, calling fights and rotations with greater frequency. His gamesense, measured aggression, and top-notch mechanics put him on the shortlist for the best Apex player ever; now that his team has earned a playoffs spot, my semi-regular rant about the possiblity of a TSM vs. Team Liquilelie showdown is finally realized.

From Albralelie’s ruthless big-game hunting of his former teammates with the Kraber in a small tourney earlier this season, to TSM focus-firing Albralelie with a perfect “321” in one of the Autumn Circuit lobbies, competitive drama like this doesn’t come around too often. I really want to write about the lack of focus on storytelling like this in official ALGS broadcasts, but that’s a post for another day. Whatever happens tomorrow will be the conclusion of a major dramatic arc, and I hope ALGS casters and analysts give it some airtime.

2 Brains 1 Controller

This somewhat new roster of TeQ, bowswer and Knoqd has been very dangerous lately. They’ve put in the work, taking victories over teams like TSM and CLG in the smaller weekly tournaments like GLL, Esports Arena, and Lenovo’s Legion Royale, but it remains to be seen whether they can achieve similar results in a higher-stakes environment.

NRG

At times, this team of Frexs, Nafen and rocker displays a combination of high-IQ decisionmaking and unmatched mechanical skill. They have the capacity to outfight any team in the game—and they tend to perform well in high-stakes situations. Recently, they placed 4th in the Summer Circuit Playoffs, 3rd in the PGL Showdown, and 2nd in Autumn Circuit #3, cementing their place on this list as the kind of squad who, if they have a good day, could easily walk away with an Autumn Circuit win.

TSM

Fresh from a win over the best of EU in Realm’s $5000 prize pool Summit Series Grand Final, TSM was the only North American team represented in the standings until 9th-place CLG. TSM also finished Realm’s regular season on top, nearly one hundred points ahead of Sentinels. Simply put, TSM has continued to be the team against which all others are measured. They won Autumn Circuit #3 and placed 2nd in Autumn Circuit #4, showing off the kind of consistency only one other team in North America has been able to match:

Complexity

Complexity nabbed 2nd place in the Summer Circuit playoffs and finished with more points than the winners, CLG. In the Autumn Circuit, they placed 2nd in tournament #1, got 3rd place in tournament #3, and won #4. If recent results are a good indication of success in the near-term future, they are the only team who can challenge TSM on consistency right now. The risky, highly aggressive playstyle that has come to define Complexity has worked amazingly well in this meta of Bloodhounds, Gibraltar bubble fights, and unpredictable zone pulls.

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I know I’ve got some international readers—what big stories am I missing in the other regions? Is Alliance or North the team to beat in EU? Will Orgless and Hungry finally get an org? I find it tough to believe anyone but T1 could come out on top in APAC North, after they won their PGL Showdown and ALGS tourneys #3 and #4, but there’s a ton of other talented teams in that lobby too: Crazy Raccoon and the newly signed roster of Fennel Korea (previously OP.GG) could easily ruin T1’s recent dominant run.

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The year in review

When I started The Final Circle, it was a labor of love for a competitive scene that was teetering on the edge of an abyss. Big orgs were jumping ship, an online tournament had been announced with nothing on the line but ALGS points; pros were fed up with scrims (I guess some things never change) and excited about Warzone and Valorant.

Eight months later, despite a cataclysmic loss of opportunities for its pro players and a wholly inadequate response from EA, a company worth almost $40 billion, players and fans are still passionate about the scene. Some savvy (and lucky) pros have worked on their social media presence, preserving their livelihoods for now; others have reached out to their communities for support in dire financial situations.

I find myself impatient for Apex to move beyond the difficulties of 2020, but so far it seems like 2021 is going to bring more of the same to the ALGS. We should be thankful that the $750,000 Winter Circuit has made incremental improvements to the format of the Autumn Circuit, like a more equitable prizing structure, slightly better qualifying terms for playoffs, and more convenient broadcast times (the ‘grand finals’ of events are back on Sunday, rather than Monday). While there was no overhaul of the tedious open qualifier format, no announcement of an ambitious 2021 schedule as other esports have done, and no mention of LANs at all, these are relatively small issues, and despite the evidence, I’m still hopeful for restrictions to be lifted sometime next year so that in-person global competition can return.

I’ll continue to cover it all, whatever happens to the scene. In 2021 I want to get back to a more global perspective, writing about other regions more regularly; doing more in-depth interviews (and asking tougher questions) and doing lots more original reporting. I’d also love to start collaborating with other independent voices in the Apex scene.

I want to thank everyone who supported The Final Circle this year: my relentless hype squad Cortes and Jessica (my R-99 and Peacekeeper), all of you who liked, commented on and discussed everything Apex with me, and a huge thanks in particular to everyone who reached out personally and told me to keep going. It’s been a dark year, but forming this community has been one of its bright spots.

See you in 2021.