NRG, Dubblyew post strong showings in ALGS Day 5

Day five of the Apex Legends Global Series (ALGS) Pro League began with a short turnaround for squads. The delay to the beginning of Split Two meant double the matches on the second week of play. The result, however, was familiar for most ALGS fans: a dominant performance turned in by NRG paced the field. For NRG, it was business as usual, after winning their previous lobby only two days before. It was also a massive day for Dubblyew, the free agent squad whose improvement has made waves in the NA scene over the course of both Pro League splits. 

The first game of the day took the lobby to Launch Pad, and the POI proved to feature some of the best Apex played on Storm Point yet. Featuring an abundance of cover and seemingly endless variety in terms of different heights teams could play from, teams that took initiative in the final circle did well here.

Unlucky took the win in the first game, dropping onto Complexity for a beautiful engagement. But Complexity, Spacestation, and NRG all proved to have the correct mix of patience and aggression as the final circle moved in, with all teams putting double-digit points onto the board alongside Unlucky. The game also featured the legend variety that can succeed on Storm Point. While Gibraltars and Valkyries still proved to be most ubiquitous, other legends like Horizon, Wraith, and Ash all popped up in the final circle as well, while other teams featured Bangalore, Crypto, Loba, and Fuse picks.

Game two featured final circles pulling further south, to Fish Farms. The limited cover and open, flat expanses between buildings in the POI meant more fighting over priority positions earlier in the game. It was one of these early plays that turned out to be the most crucial part of the game and let Sentinels pull off the impossible.

Down a member and attempting to bring him back into the game, Sentinels stuck to a respawn beacon while Atlanta Premier rushed them, taking advantage of Sentinels’ commitment to completing the respawn. Sentinels’ Nicholas “Crust” Kell showed up in the biggest way possible. Many North American pros’ pick for the most underrated player in the game, Crust won the one-vs-two fight over Atlanta Premier, got the revive onto Trenton “Lou” Clements, and the team brought Adam “senoxe” Lau back into the game at the same time. Without that play, Sentinels would be staring down the barrel of a zero-point game. Instead, the full-strength squad ran through the lobby, grabbing a second-place finish with 12 kills that put them on top of the day’s leaderboard. Sentinels couldn’t take out the game’s winners, E8, but it hardly mattered. Sentinels were back, and they were back in style.

The final Storm Point map sent teams to the singular group of buildings to the west of Cenote Caves. Seemingly trying to play at the edge of the ring when they took up the position, NRG found themselves in the winning spot as the final circle pulled right to them.

It was also a big game from Spacestation Gaming, whose long trek from Launch Pad to the opposite edge of the map featured the team grabbing nine kills, nearly as much as NRG’s 10 on the game. It was a tremendous way to finish the run at Storm Point for both teams: NRG took first place overall in the lobby, with SSG close behind them in second.

Sentinels and Unlucky also entered the games on World’s Edge well within striking distance of first place, and teams like SCRY and Complexity still remained in touch as well. After some dominant performances from North America’s best teams in the first week of Pro League, the gap between the favorites and the rest of the field seemed to shrink in week two.

NRG, however, has different ideas. They picked up their second victory in a row by winning game four, easily dealing with the other teams in Overlook.

As many teams scrambled to adjust to a zone that shifted dramatically to the east after looking like the game would end close to Climatizer, NRG barely even looked bothered. They cleared out the teams around the RV vehicle they held down for much of the late game, then secured the only cover remaining as the final ring closed ever-smaller, cleaning up the remnants of teams fighting in front of them. Sentinels also had a big game, picking up second place with 10 kills. Unfortunately for them, the only team that beat them also happened to be the team on top of the leaderboard.

Game five featured Sentinels and NRG yet again, and both teams pulled out ridiculous plays to survive into the top three. Neither could secure victory this time, however, and Dubblyew showed up and took the win.

Dubblyew, quite possibly North America’s best free agent squad, had been quietly consistent for much of the day. Game five, however, took the team to third place overall with only one game remaining, and the team proved once again that they’re a squad to watch in NA. Meanwhile, NRG once again matched a strong Sentinels effort and all but secured the overall lead for the lobby with match six still remaining.

NRG would take the lobby win on the day, but not before Dubblyew did everything in their power to make them uncomfortable with another win in the final game, securing second place on the day for the team.

It was a masterclass in improvisation from Dubblyew, who found themselves on the low ground in Lava Fissure as the remaining teams in the lobby all fought above them. Finding a spot by which the team could climb a cliff face, Dubblyew surprised the rest of the lobby and seemingly came from nowhere to clean up multiple teams too busy with their own fights to notice a team had appeared at the edge of the cliff.

NRG’s win put them momentarily on top of Pro League, with Esports Arena still to play in tomorrow’s lobby. Meanwhile, the strong showings from Dubblyew, Sentinels in third, and Spacestation in fourth place put all three teams into the top 10. Split Two is halfway done for all of today’s teams. The all-important top 10 positions in Pro League that qualify for Split 2 playoffs are still very much in flux, and those four teams put themselves in prime position to benefit going into the second half of the split.