Pioneers make dream ALGS Pro League start (EMEA Week #1)

Recently signed Pioneers won the first week of Pro League. They once again overcame roster uncertainty regarding teammate Max Strafe, who is in Ukraine, to put down a dream start.

This was the first week of the ALGS Pro League. Teams are competing in a round robin format over 10 weeks, Today's 6 games saw group A and group B face off on Worlds Edge and Storm Point.

In addition, Element6 deployed Lifeline in a Pro League as they pushed the Pioneers all the way to the finish line, taking 2nd.

When Pioneers entered Apex, they knew they had talent on their hands. Despite all of the disruption to the trio of Gnaske, MaxStrafe and SirDel they have continually performed both online and offline.

Yet, they wouldn't have realised that the Pioneers were capable of their showing in round 3. They were on fire, dropping a huge 19 kills on their way to a game victory. It was a masterful end game - the Pioneers were able to bully several squads at once, maximising their kill total and never really coming under any pressure in the end circle.

The Pioneers have adapted to the new aggressive meta incredibly. Back when this roster was known as GSD, they were the masters of the Wraith, Pathfinder Wattson meta. Gnaske has always been considered one of the best early rotate IGL's in the region, but he is proving his flexibility.

The Pioneers are now in the strongest possible position ahead of next weeks games. Undoubtedly, they will be expecting to maintain this level throughout the Pro League.

While Apex absolutely has one of it's most varied and diverse metas at the moment, Lifeline was not a legend that many expected to see. Yet, Element6 ran the medic legend and found incredible success. They narrowly were pipped by the Pioneers and took 2nd overall on the day.

Many fans were asking, why Lifeline? It seems like a strange choice. Previously, Lifeline hasn't been favoured because her kit was mostly only useful when you are in very sticky situations - and most teams prefer to avoid these conditions. Yet, with the rise of Seer a place has emerged for Lifeline in the meta.

Her drone revives is one of the only abilities not cancelled by the Seer tactical ability. This means that Lifeline teams can reset a lot faster and safer in a Seer filled lobby. But, this isn't the end of Lifelines use. Her carepackage both provides constant upgrades since smart loot was added to it, as well as becoming make shift cover. Element6 were often found playing from among a set of Lifeline packages. With their success today, will other teams follow their lead?

Full standings on Liquipedia.

One of the qualifier teams, HighPeak, made a really impressive start to their Pro League careers. Bavis, YungHongKong and Friqzs dominated the Pre Season qualifiers, but this was a big step up. Yet, the trio rose to the occasion after a slow start. They racked up a huge 18 kills in game 5, finishing 2nd in the process.

HighPeak will be hopeful that they can continue to improve and adapt to this top level of Apex. All throughout year 2, qualifier teams struggled to break through and push towards the top 20 of the then 40 team pro league. Teams like High Peak will have ambitions to avoid being relegated back to the qualifiers at the end of the 10 gameweeks, and they are already showing they have what it takes to compete at this level.

The EMEA region will be back on Thursday at 5pm GMT. Stay tuned to esports.gg for the latest Apex Legends news and updates.