DarkZero start ALGS Pro League with a big statement victory

DarkZero sent a loud and clear message to North America with a huge opening victory in the ALGS Pro League. Despite roster drama, trialling thirds and that disappointing ALGS Championship performance DarkZero reminded everyone why they are the only team besides TSM to ever win an ALGS LAN event.

They steamrolled to a clear victory, with new man Sikezz performing phenomenally on his DarkZero debut.

It might have been a new ALGS year, with an updated Storm Point, a new legend and several new rosters but old habits die hard in the ALGS. North America once again came down to the age old rivalry between TSM and DarkZero. The two goliaths of Apex Legends esports went shoulder to shoulder for an opening day win in the ALGS Pro League.

The two sides fought multiple times across the day, with TSM drawing first blood. They were able to kill DarkZero to win the second game of the day.

However, it was DarkZero who eventually muscled ahead of the ALGS Champions to open their ALGS Pro League account on a victory. The dramatic off season, and all the talk and attention that came with it, had no impact on the rosters ability to perform.

Their performance today will firmly draw a line under any doubts about the process behind choosing Sikezz. The new DarkZero squad played fantastically as a team, but Sikezz also performed extremely well as an individual too. Joining the Split 2 Playoff Champions was a step up for the 23-year-old, but one he was clearly ready to make.

The highlight of DarkZero's performance was their fourth game.

They swept the final circle, forcing a fight with E8 to set up a straight 3v3 versus the recently signed FaZe Clan roster.

Like Element 6 in EMEA, DarkZero have adopted Bloodhound. They used the information from scans, and infrared vision from their Ultimate, to find an incredible level of aggression in fights. The way they flipped the switch to quickly eliminate E8 is a great example of their firepower. DarkZero averaged 9 kills per game, and had 19 more kills than TSM.

DarkZero are operating from a new drop location on Worlds Edge in Year 4. They have chosen to leave Harvester, to land at Skyhook West and Trials. The loot from Trials means that DarkZero are always well equipped and ready to take fights at any stage of the game.

There has been a lot of attention on the new Luminosity Roster. Perhaps critical to their success is the ability to win their ongoing contest at Lava Fissure against SKRT. Both LG and SKRT are in Group A, meaning they are contesting every single time they both play unless one side chooses to leave.

Across scrims, the contest has been very close and competitive. Luminosity have a slight lead, but in reality there is hardly anything separating the two sides off drop. ALGS is always a different kettle of fish. The pressure is higher, teams are more likely to third party and nerves start to come into play.

However, the contest was a bit of a damp squib. The two teams didn't fight in any of the three games. Neither team landed for a direct 3v3, and Luminosity chose to leave to play out their game on each occasion. The risk of being third partied by E8, who land Countdown, loomed large.

The strength of Lava Fissure is the strong rotates and good loot. Both teams will be feeling the impact of having to share the drop spot. Despite this, Luminosity were still successful on Worlds Edge. They managed to win game six, and finished fourth overall.

The ALGS Pro League returns next weekend, for a double Saturday and Sunday game weekend.

Stay tuned to esports.gg for the latest ALGS news and Apex Legends updates.