Mande is convinced new way to play Apex will kill ranked, but there’s no turning back

As one of the most popular Apex Legends content creators, TSM streamer Mande knows a thing or two about what is and isn’t working in the scene—and he’s sounding the alarm over the Realm SoloQ League, claiming it has the potential to kill ranked for good.

The Realm SoloQ League is a new private Apex league complete with its own points system, ELO rating, prize pool, and tournaments. Players solo queue and will be matched with others based on their MMR. The bar of entry is limited only to those who are ranked Masters or higher or have been a finalist at a Challengers Cup or a Pro League Qualifier.

Mande has been a part of the inaugural season, which launched on April 3 and runs until July 3. He’s currently topping the leaderboards and he’s enjoyed it so much that he’s claiming the new league is “better” than ranked. His reasoning is it’s less prone to cheaters and it adds more meaning to the grind for top-tier players.

In fact, he suggests once it gains traction, especially among popular streamers, it will effectively kill ranked, which he feels has been “the worst content” for two years.

“When the Realm is 24/7, I don’t think anyone is going to play ranked anymore,” he said on April 16, insisting he’s all for the new way to play Apex. On top of that, he’s actually banking on ranked’s demise—if only to teach Respawn a lesson for not caring about making the game’s competitive experience better for elite players.

Mande, who only trails behind Apex streamers ImperialHal and NICKMERCS in 2023 based on hours watched, according to streaming stats site SullyGnome, also took a swipe at Respawn for “pushing dogshit content,” in reference to skins in particular—a sentiment his fans seemed to agree with.

As for his take on the Realm league killing ranked, it was a different story, with some Twitch fans voicing their concerns around the idea since the vast majority won’t be able to qualify and will have to keep playing ranked.

This Realm SoloQ League’s season is set to wrap up on July 3 with eligible Apex players in the running to earn a slice of the $150,000 USD prize pool.