LAN returns to Apex for ALGS Year 2
This is The Final Circle, a newsletter for Apex fans
First time here? Subscribe to The Final Circle below and get high-quality Apex news and analysis delivered directly to your inbox.
Year 2 of the ALGS was announced today, boasting a $5,000,000 prize pool. “Should conditions allow,” there will be 3 in-person LAN tournaments over the next year, causing Apex fans to breathe a huge collective sigh of relief. The first is coming in January 2022, more than two years since the last in-person Apex tourney—Poland’s Preseason Invitational in September 2019.
One of the other big changes is the introduction of a Challenger Circuit in addition to a Pro League. The Pro League in each of the five global regions will have 40 teams: 20 invited (not yet announced) and 20 from qualifiers, while the Challenger Circuit will duke it out for entry into the top-tier league. I think the other really big piece of info is the introduction of crossplay in competition, so that console players will be allowed into the ALGS. They’ll play with the reduced aim assist settings native to PC. There’s a ton more info worth checking out in the link above.
Arenas tournaments this summer give fans a first look at top-level play in the new mode
I hope this little break from the hectic schedule of competitive Apex is treating everyone well. Despite the lack of ALGS action, the tournament scene is still thriving. Last week’s $10,000 prize pool Arenas invitational from UMG showed off the potential of Arenas matches in a big way.
You can find the action here, on their Twitch channel, or skip to the great match-up between Team Liquid and eventual tournament winners G2, who earned a cool $5,000 for their efforts. The full results are here, courtesy of Liquipedia.
If you missed it last week, you should check out my article in Fanbyte, where I summed up the reaction to Arenas so far. I wanted to get a wide variety of perspectives from around the community before ranked mode drops in season 10, so I hit up pros on big rosters like Hakis and Zach Mazer, got Falloutt’s take, spoke to the observer Bear and Pontus Bengtsson, the general manager of Alliance, and closed out by chatting with Peach, a cracked player who crushed some talented squads back when Arenas first came out and whose Twitch channel is currently blowing up.
I consider myself a tough but fair critic of all things Apex, so I thought it was interesting to see a Reddit commenter who found my article “fluffy” and lacking in substance. I take a lot of pride in my reporting and think of myself as someone who asks the tough questions in a field that often uncritically promotes games, so it got me wondering if I’d done enough to draw out interesting answers from my interviews and give enough nuanced perspective.
Ultimately, Arenas is still in its infancy, and people don’t feel comfortable judging the mode before it’s even had a chance to get going. While players think it might lack strategic depth and talked about the balancing issues in the Arenas economy, issues I mention in the article, Arenas has no longstanding problems, and people are largely optimistic about its future. If players like something and feel good about it, I report on that—it might not be as juicy or controversial, but I’m not Dexerto, and one of the reasons I love this newsletter format is that I don’t have to post clickbait to attract readers.
What to watch this week: BLAST Titans
With Arenas in mind, the first weekend of EU’s BLAST Titans starts tomorrow (those starting times are CEST, or Central European Summer Time, so 6 hours ahead of EST if you’re in the States). It’s nice to see EU get a big tourney. This is the battle royale phase, while its second weekend is Arenas-only—crowning its champion with a series of knockout Arenas matches. Flush with a 40,000 Euro prize pool, it’s the biggest tournament of the summer and it should be fun to watch considering BLAST’s excellent reputation as an organizer.