The Apex Legends Global Series returns this weekend with the split one playoffs. 20 of the best teams in North America will compete for a $125,000 prize pool in a match point format. Teams will only be able to win by reaching 50 points and then winning a game after reaching the 50-point threshold.
And to get prepared for the playoffs, our competitive Apex writers made their official tier list of teams with a brief preview for every squad participating.
S (favorites to win)
Sentinels
When they’re not busy trolling TSM in scrims, Sentinels built a reputation throughout Pro League as the team on the edge of the zone that’s most likely winning a fight. The addition of Trenton “Lou” Clements and the introduction of Ash have made this Sentinels team fast, deadly, and eyeing the top prize in the first split playoffs.
NRG
After a slow start to Pro League, NRG went on a five-week mission to prove they were still one of North America’s best, never finishing lower than third in their lobbies after the first round. They’re possibly the most well-rounded team in the region, are comfortable in high-pressure situations, and can play as an early-rotating team or a squad picking out fights on the edge of the circle. In the match point format, that flexibility of playstyle is crucial, and they have the brains and the firepower to take first place.
G2 Esports
This squad of controller players has been in the top tier of Apex teams for a long time. They’ve had ups and downs, but overall, G2 have shown an absurd level of consistency in high-stakes events. They notched a fourth-place finish in the first split of Pro League, taking home a $10,500 check.
And since the end of the regular season, they’ve been on a hot streak: G2 won the JBL Quantum Cup in December, earning $25,000 and finishing more than 20 points ahead of the second-place team. Their particularly strong pure fighting skills make them a big threat in events that use the match point format. Everything seems to be clicking for G2 at the moment, and they’ll almost certainly make a big statement in the playoffs lobby.
A (teams with a fighting chance)
Complexity Gaming
In 2020, Complexity went on a streak of absolute dominance in ALGS play, earning a fearsome reputation for assertive pushes on the edge of the circle and pioneering that style of play. They took a series of wins and second-place finishes that year, including a big win in the match point format at the Autumn Circuit playoffs.
At times, however, Complexity has struggled to adapt. As other squads caught on to the potential upside of Bloodhound’s strength in team compositions that focus on the edge of circle, Complexity lost a step. Last year wasn’t as good to the team, as other changes in the meta left them looking a bit lost, with a disappointing finish in the ALGS Championships. But Complexity never fell off the radar entirely. The team’s in-game leader, Bowen “Monsoon” Fuller, is one of the best in the business, and they were looking back in fine form in the first split of Pro League. Overall, the team is too deadly to ignore, and they could easily end up on top in the playoffs.
Cloud9
C9, the team with possibly the highest peaks and valleys in the game. The trio of Zach Mazer, Paris “StayNaughty” Gouzoulis, and Mac “Albralelie” Beckwith have the potential to be the best team in the world at any given moment. The team also has a tendency to fall apart at the worst timest. Which C9 shows up to playoffs and managing the trios mentality throughout will be the major key for this squad. Everyone knows how talented they are. They just need to keep their heads.
TSM
It’s a bit strange not seeing TSM at the top of any Apex list, but that’s been a simple fact of life for the last several months. You have to go back to March 2021 to find their last major tournament victory. The team is still one of the scene’s most consistent, to be sure, and can certainly find themselves snagging a victory in these playoffs. But figuring out the right chemistry with the newest addition Evan Verhulst and the ever-evolving meta will determine whether TSM can remain in the upper echelon of teams, or if the first institution of pro Apex becomes obsolete.
Spacestation Gaming
“Consistency” is the word constantly thrown around with this SSG squad, for good reason. The team just constantly puts together solid performances, most recently taking third place in December’s JBL Quantum Cup. With a recent switch to a Loba composition that ensures the early-rotating team won’t be fighting with scraps for loot in the late game, it would be a shock if the playoffs ended without SSG lurking toward the top of the leaderboard.
Esports Arena
Esports Arena wasn’t invited to Pro League. They had to compete to even gain entry to the league. But once they were there, ESA shattered expectations. Throughout much of the first split of the league, ESA were clearly the team to beat, delivering consistently excellent results over the first four weeks of play. But disaster struck for Esports Arena when the team’s breakout star, Evan Verhulst, was snapped up by TSM to fill the vacancy caused by Eric “Snip3down” Wrona’s departure for pro Halo. That upheaval caused an undeniable shift in the team. While ESA picked up the talented player Logan “Knoqd” Layou to fill the gap, they’ve struggled to regain the kind of confidence they need to excel in a lobby full of other great teams.
100 Thieves
The defending ALGS champions are no strangers to delivering results under pressure. Not many ALGS fans expected the roster to win the match point format in the finals of the ALGS Championship in the summer of 2021. But this team adapted brilliantly to the Valkyrie meta. They were one of the first teams using her ultimate intelligently, creating opportunities to do more than survive tough rotates—they showed an ability to outmaneuver opponents and proved they could beat the best teams in the game. Those high expectations got them signed by 100 Thieves. But it’s fair to say the pressure of those expectations also got to them in this split of Pro League. They struggled to generate results until the final day of the split when they delivered an insane performance to leap into the top 10 teams overall. Anything can happen, but to win these playoffs, 100 Thieves need to rediscover the team they were last summer.
B (dark horse squads)
XSET
Another team that recently made the switch to Loba, XSET proved they could compete with the best in North America by taking home a victory in week two of Pro League. That was the only major splash they made, however, only managing a sixth-place finish in week four as their next highest standing. The consistency might not exactly be there for the squad, but in a match point format, all it takes is a couple of big games to take home serious cash. XSET are more than capable of that.
Renegades
Renegades earned a fourth-place finish at the 2021 ALGS Championships, where they took home nearly $50,000. Since then, their appearances at weekly tournaments have ended with them generally in the middle of the pack. Renegades has more recently posted some strong results in the low-stakes Esports Arena tournaments. But they’ll need to clutch up in a big way to compete with more consistent teams in a high-stakes lobby.
Torrent
Torrent needed a team change and some late heroics to make the playoffs to begin with, with Elijah Hill being benched in favor first of stand-in Knoqd, and now Beau “RamBeau” Sheidy. The team’s fragging power helped them through, however, even when IGL Cole “Rkn” Prommel missed time with the team while he got married. Despite just sneaking into playoffs, don’t be surprised if Torrent makes some noise while they’re here.
Pittsburgh Knights
The Pittsburgh Knights roster finished 12th in Pro League. They weren’t able to post consistent results during that first split, but the team managed to secure a playoffs berth largely on the strength of one great day of Pro League play. If they show up like that in the playoffs, they’ll be in contention for a solid performance. But overall, the roster hasn’t managed to triumph when they’ve been dealt an unlucky hand; they’ll need to dig deep if they have a chance of beating a team like Sentinels or NRG.
C (wildcards and longshots)
Liquid
Team Liquid has seen a good amount of roster movement, making team coordination and synergy a big issue, both in the past and going forward. Stronger teams like Esports Arena and TSM are currently struggling to adapt to their new additions, and there isn’t convincing evidence that Team Liquid can persevere on the strength of their individual skills right now. They limped into playoffs with a 17th place finish in Pro League, well outside the original cutoff of only 10 teams. The latest addition to the team, Brandon “FunFPS” Groombridge, was previously signed to Team Liquid as a content creator. While that might ultimately be a great pick-up, there isn’t much time for them to develop as a cohesive unit.
Dubblyew
Dubblyew, aka Team Vizio from Series E, is an interesting team. They have the insane technical ability, but results that swing wildly from week to week. That was apparent in how they even qualified for playoffs, with a massive victory in week six over teams like Sentinels, TSM, Cloud9, and Complexity. They needed that win, as three separate weeks in Pro League ended with only one point for the team, and another with just two. There are still some rough edges to the team, overall, but if they get rolling, watch out.
FURIA Esports
FURIA is an interesting team, anchored by in-game leader TeQ’s Crypto play. FURIA’s use of Crypto gives the team good intelligence on the surrounding area and the rare ability to break Gibraltar bubbles, often to devastating effect. But FURIA struggled to notch great results in Pro League. While they improved toward the end of the league and were able to get in the top twenty teams based on their performance in the last two days of league play, FURIA hasn’t managed to get Crypto to pay consistent dividends. They have the skills, but it’s an uphill battle for them.
Oxygen Esports
OXG’s only stand-out performance in Pro League came in week five, when they place second over teams like Sentinels, Spacestation, 100 Thieves, and Esports Arena. Apart from that, their Pro League placements were consistent, if not very flashy. An interesting wrinkle: with Furia deciding to change their landing spot to Skyhook for playoffs, OXG is moving to the recently vacated Countdown. We’ll see how the change affects the squad, but a top 10 finish will probably be counted as a big success for the boys in green.
Premier
Premier finished Pro League in 14th place. They earned a fifth-place finish in a recent $50,000 invitational, and have a talented team of experienced fraggers, including the relatively new addition of Elijah Hill, an ex-Torrent player. Premier certainly earned their spot in the playoffs lobby, but it seems unlikely that they’ll win the day.
D (big underdogs)
Noble
Noble ended the first split of Pro League in 19th place, just a point ahead of Lazarus. They made a statement with a second-place finish on their debut outing in Pro League but struggled to post good results for the rest of the season. In recent weekly bouts, they’ve done as well as fourth place, but have been more likely to end up in the bottom half of the lobby—not a confident place to start from for a team with dreams of a playoff win.
Lazarus
The pinkest team in North America only managed 14 total points throughout Pro League’s first split, but were bailed out by the planned LAN tournament being canceled due to Covid concerns, and the playoff field widening to include the top 20 teams, instead of just the top ten. If Lazarus were to somehow win playoffs, it would probably be one of the most monumental upsets in Apex history. That said, they’re going to need something special this weekend to make that happen.
Published: Jan 19, 2022 07:02 pm