ALGS Championship Group Stage POI Draft – all drop spots

The ALGS Championship Draft for the Group Stage has concluded, and we now know where every team will land across the Group Stage. Teams now have just over two weeks to practice with their assigned Drop Spots before competition kicks off on Wednesday, January 29.

This was also the first ever POI Draft in the ALGS to feature E-District. The Year 4 Championship will be the first ever ALGS LAN event to feature the map. Interestingly, teams did not prioritise E-District in the draft, with just a couple of teams using their earliest pick on the map.

Of the teams that did, the Lotus was the most popular choice. Teams seem to have identified that as a very powerful spot on E-District, and it will be interesting to see if there is a noticeable benefit for choosing to use your earliest pick to lock in that specific drop spot.

Notably in this Draft was TSM, defending ALGS Championship Champions, being forced to land at Mirage A Trois in the opening Worlds Edge games. They may choose to cause some bother for FaZe Clan at Staging. It is perhaps notable that TSM picked before FaZe Clan, meaning they opted for Mirage instead of Staging. Was this a plan to claim both that backfired?

While TSM perhaps failed to claim both Staging and Mirage, Alliance have a good record at getting two for the price of one in the ALGS POI Draft. By claiming Trident, and promising to sprint at anyone who picks North Pad - Alliance have essentially claimed both drop spots for this Group Stage block.

The Group B vs D draft was unique for the fact that Skyhook West wasn't picked first. FNATIC, who had first pick, instead chose to claim Lightning Rod on Storm Point using their first pick. This let Alliance claim Skyhook West for themselves. They were then also able to perform the same two for one trick with Trident and North Pad. This is a very strong draft for Alliance, but will it pay off?

Team Falcons perhaps hoped to get the same deal as Alliance on Storm Point in the A vs C ALGS Championship Draft. However, they were foiled by 100 Thieves. As a result, they are landing in a very tough spot on Storm Point. They do have strong picks on Worlds Edge and E-District to compensate though.

In the B vs C Draft, Team Falcons are in a much better position on Storm Point. They chose third and landed Lightning Rod as a result, perhaps prioritising Storm Point after getting stuck with Trident. This was also a good draft for the likes of Luminosity, FNATIC and Gamin Gladiators.

In the final draft, Alliance will have to fight NRG for North Pad. At what could be a crucial stage of the competition, this could be a fight to watch closely depending on where the two teams sit in the overall standings.

Stay tuned to esports.gg for full coverage of the ALGS Championship in Sapporo, Japan and all things Apex Legends.