Our ten things to look out for at the ALGS Split 2 Playoffs.
The ALGS Split 2 Playoffs take place at the Copperbox London between July 13-16. The 40 best teams from around the world will play Apex Legends on a global stage.
With so many teams, and so many matches, what should you be focusing on during the event?
We put together the ten biggest things to keep an eye on during the event.
FaZe finally playing at an ALGS LAN
The ALGS Split 2 Playoffs will be the first time a FaZe Clan have competed in an Apex Legends LAN event. In addition, this event will be Snip3down's first Apex Legends LAN since 2019.
Being signed to FaZe always brings immense pressure and there will be a lot of expectation on the roster to perform well. Crucially, the roster does not have any Playoff points from Split 1. Therefore, to avoid the LCQ and directly qualify for the end of season ALGS Champs the FaZe roster will need to at least make Sundays finals.
Vexed bringing new playstyle to London
Vexed Gaming were one of the surprise packages of the EMEA Pro League. The roster of MaTafe, Unlucky and Tyler finished 3rd in the Split One Pro League. However, they failed to translate their hyper aggressive playstyle to the LAN environment in February. Vexed slumped to a 31st placed finish.
Following that result, Vexed re-evaluated their macro strategy. This was to make adjustments with LAN in mind. As a result, Vexed rotated earlier and they positioned themselves inside the zone far more often. They are also making use of the new Survey Beacons to gather information when playing on Edge. You can read esports.gg's exclusive interview with Vexed about their changes here.
In Pro League Split 1, Vexed earned just 34% of their points from zone. In Split 2, this had risen to 43%. Now, will this readjusted strategy help them perform better this LAN?
Will NRG have to adapt their Worlds Edge strategy?
NRG’s tried and tested LAN macro strategy might have to be upended on Worlds Edge. The recent introduction of a Ring Console at Landslide has directly impacted the spawn rate of Staging’s Ring Console. This means that Staging gets a ring console roughly 6 games out of ten. It used to be about 9.
That could be a major spoiler to NRG’s past LAN strategy on Worlds Edge. NRG operate a fast as possible rotation strategy, using Loba to acquire loot later into the game.
If you don’t get a ring console, you either have to guess the zone or delay your rotation to scan a console at a different POI. With teams intending to land for Landslide it is not possible for NRG to land at both POI's to guarantee a beacon almost every game like they are used too.
As a result, might we see a new playstyle from NRG on Worlds Edge?
Which TSM will show up at the ALGS Split 2 Playoffs?
It’s hard not to talk about TSM when previewing an Apex Legends LAN event. The defending Champions came dangerously close to not qualifying for this event. However, in true TSM fashion they performed a miraculous recovery.
The question ahead of this event is undoubtedly which TSM will show up? It is possible that their Pro League scare will stand to benefit them in London. If there was any complacency following TSM’s last LAN win that will have been totally erased by their Pro League campaign.
TSM have also been posting very impressive scrim results, in part thanks to adopting Catalyst. Early, or at least faster, rotating with the zone knowledge she can provide is often a very successful strategy at LAN.
It’s hard not to consider TSM as a favorite for this LAN event, and as always all eyes will be on
Can Alliance Effect live up to the hype?
There is a lot of anticipation around Alliance Effect's LAN debut. You can read esports.gg's exclusive interview with the 18-year old prodigy here. The young controller player was the EMEA kill leader in the second Pro League split, but also had more kills than anyone else in any region.
It's beyond doubt that Effect is talented. His teammates claim he is the best player in the world. The question is, can he prove it on the global stage and live up to the hype?
Are Moist and JLINGZ going to fight for Overlook?
Noiises revealed to esports.gg that he is prepared to stay and fight for his drop spots during this LAN event. This seems set to create a contest between JLINGZ and Moist Esports for Overlook.
Potentially, this could be the highest profile contest we see during the entire event. Where there has been other disputes for certain spots, these have mostly been entirely settled during scrims.
Even more interesting is that these teams might end up contesting as far into the tournament as finals. How might this contest hinder each teams game plan, and who will blink first and drop somewhere else?
Will Seers pick rate fall at the ALGS Split 2 Playoffs?
Seer has often been a big point of discussion among Apex Legends players and viewers. He has been roundly hated and complained about.
Seer recieved changes in the latest Apex Legends patch. However, as some players suggested when the changes were released, his pick rate has not fallen very far. Now the question is, how many teams will run Seer this week? XSET Nocturnal suggested that we might see teams shifting on their use of Seer as the ALGS Split 2 Playoffs goes on.
His current abilities seem to really suit teams who want to take a lot of engagements. Seer is also especially devastating in POI contests too.
Can Acend perform in a new meta?
Acend were the surprise package of the Split 1 Playoffs. Narrowly missing out to TSM, Acend almost took home the title last time in London. They had a clear, and well forged identity based around Crypto, fast rotations and securing positions.
However, that playstyle was essentially dismantled when the class system was introduced to Apex Legends after those playoffs concluded. Crypto lost the ability to scan the next ring, instead he has a new 'player scan' that reveals the position of everyone on the map. This is still a powerful ability, but if you want to use it to work out where zone is going you have to wait for people to begin their rotates before you scan the beacon.
Of course, it is now the Controller legends who can scan the next zone. That ability has not gone from the game and Acend were using a Wattson in the last playoffs. But, what made Crypto so powerful was the ability to scan using his drone. That meant you could scan beacons in other POI's, or scan beacons later into the game to get ahead of other teams.
Can Acend repeat their LAN success, or better it, in a totally new meta?
Will uncertainty help or hinder South American teams?
South American teams have been dealing with their fair share of uncertainty in the days leading up to the ALGS Split 2 Playoffs. ALGS rules seemed to indicate that their region might be removed from ALGS entirely after this years ALGS Championship.
However, ALGS admins have clarified that South America will still be a playable region in ALGS 'Year 4'. But, the door has been left open to changes to how the region operates. Details on those are yet to be released. Some South American teams have publicly floated the idea of relocating to a different region to compete. This is not unheard of, with teams such as DarkZero moving from APAC South to North America.
A strong performance at the Split 2 Playoffs, combined with 'ALGS Champs' qualification could help them find the organisational backing they need to make such a move.
Could Moist win the ALGS Split 2 Playoffs?
Aside from their potential Worlds Edge contest, Moist are among the ALGS Split 2 favourites. They have been absolutely dominant in the APAC South Pro League, winning four of the seven gamedays they played. One of these was the Regional Finals, which Moist won in just six games.
With their confidence, and strong 'Match Point' finals record Moist are a major contender for this weekends event. Coming from a smaller region, they also have the benefit of less pressure and attention, which might also be a benefit.
Overall, the ALGS Split 2 Playoffs promises to be an action packed four days of Apex Legends.
For more coverage of the ALGS Split 2 Playoffs, stay with esports.gg.