The Apex Legends Global Series 2023 Split One Playoffs kicked off its first day of competition today, featuring all 40 international teams competing on two streams to decide the first round of the group stage. With the tournament only lasting four days, each and every match counts for all players to make their mark on the first LAN event of the 2023 season.
However, one of the favorites to win the entire tournament found themselves in dire straits when the news came out that one of their players had tested positive for COVID-19.
Brandon “oh Nocturnal” Singer, the IGL and Bangalore for North America’s XSET, tweeted the news of his positive test results the morning of Playoffs, six hours before XSET’s first match was to be played.
In past LAN events, players who contracted COVID-19 were prohibited from playing, with the only alternatives either finding a substitute player or coach to fill the spot, or being forced to continue the tournament as a duo. The 2022 Championship had 14 teams with one or more players affected by COVID, leading to affected results in all stages of the tournament.
A few days before LAN, TSM revealed in an interview with Ben Sledge of The Gamer that Respawn prepared additional accommodations for the London LAN and future 2023 ALGS events, including quarantine rooms that allow sick players to still participate in an isolated environment, a first for competitive Apex.
Still competing at full strength, XSET continued their past regional dominance in the opening day of Playoffs, winning the first two games in Groups A v B to put up 72 points as the first place team in all groups. JLINGZ Esports, also in Group A, trails in second place with 71 points. Fnatic, the winner of Groups C v D, ended the day with 58 points as third place overall.
Despite the situation, Nocturnal and XSET have taken the news lightly, poking fun at the circumstances on stage and hyping up their results regardless of COVID at LAN.
XSET’s next match is Groups A v C, to be featured on the main ALGS stream on Twitch and Youtube on Feb. 3 at 11am CT. They will compete directly with JLINGZ Esports and Fnatic to hold on to their first place position in the second day of the group stage.
