Top Dogs move to the front of the pack on EMEA ALGS day 5

Some EMEA teams who were sitting at the bottom of the standings rushed past the competition to be in line for a spot at the Apex Legends Global Series (ALGS) Pro League after today’s matchups.

Finnish Apex team Top Dogs had earned zero points in EMEA’s ALGS Pro League before today’s matches. They were tied for last place in the field of 40 total teams. Team 789, who made a name for themselves after performing heroics at the last in-person Apex competition, 2019’s Preseason Invitational, were in a similar position. They were invited to the Pro League, but only earned a single point before today. Another Russian team, Redragon, had a single point as well.

These struggling teams all redeemed themselves and their Pro League prospects with strong performances today, which marked the halfway point of regular season play. Though they were sitting at the very bottom of the overall ALGS standings, all three of those teams are now back into contention for a spot in the playoffs.

The talented squad Kungarna took game one, but couldn’t find the consistency they needed afterward and finished the day in fifth place. Game two moved into an aggressive endgame outside Big Maude, where DungeonMast33rs took a spectacular win. They wiped team 789 and were immediately attacked by Top Dogs, leaving DungeonMast33rs player Maxim “Exens” Dmitruk (who previously played for 789) alone with just a sliver of health. He was able to dodge, weave, and use downed players as cover for a huge clutch win, denying Top Dogs an easy victory.

Redragon took an easy win outside Harvester in game three, raining down fire and a Gibraltar ultimate on opponents who were already fighting and then dropping from their perch to clean up for a 24-point win. 

Game four led to another late-game standoff involving Redragon, but Top Dogs took the win that time. Going into the last two games of the day, it looked certain Top Dogs and Redragon would continue to dominate. While 789 hadn’t yet notched a win, their consistent high placements and kills led them to the top of the lobby as well, all but guaranteeing that teams with little success in the ALGS Pro League to date would earn the majority of the day’s points and even the overall standings.

After five games, Redragon and Top Dogs were nearly 20 points ahead of 789, sitting in third. The rest of the pack was much closer: only ten points separated third from tenth place. That tight field and a 14-kill win allowed Myztro Gaming to sneak ahead of Redragon and 789 into second place after the sixth and final game of the day, solidifying their place at the top of the overall EMEA leaderboard.

Fans who tuned in to the official stream of today’s EMEA matches had to endure significant audio issues. There was consistent static the broadcast team was aware of but couldn’t fix. Later, the sound cut out entirely, leaving more than 10,000 viewers to muddle through without the benefit of casters explaining the fast-paced action. The lack of sound continued intermittently throughout the rest of the broadcast, showing the challenges of remote production during the ongoing pandemic.