T-Rex tops qualifier and fan-favourites SoloQGoats qualify for Pro League…with Loba!?

30 teams in the EMEA region battled for a spot in the 2nd split of the Apex Legends Pro League this weekend. Split over two days, teams worked through winners and losers brackets on Saturday. Sunday saw the 20 final teams battle for a top 9 finish, with those successful making the Pro League.

The 30 teams was made up of a mix of experienced Pro League teams, and up and coming challenger circuit teams. Featuring household names such as ShivFPS and the SoloQGoats, all the way to rising stars such as Vreemii and the Space Pigeons.

The standout stars of the weekends qualifiers was T-Rex. The team, who finished 1st in the Challenger Circuit, continued their dominance with a massive margin of victory. They amassed almost 100 points on their way to 1st place this weekend.

Their dominance came from an incredible consistency, making the top 3 in every game bar one. Their performance was so strong, that just their points awarded from Kills would have earned them 4th place, above teams such as the SoloQGoats.

Led by star Wraith player Oldis, the talented roster will already have eyes on a strong Pro League performance. If they can maintain their aggression and consistency in the Pro League, there is no reason why they can't challenge for a playoff spot in Split 2.

SoloQGoats, using their new Loba composition re-qualified for Pro League. However the trio of DiffQ, ShivFPS and Unlucky (subbing for Zipeth) left it late to secure their spot.

Having had to come through the losers bracket, the SoloQGoats faced some terrible zone RNG. 4 of the 6 games all pulled into Tree, the opposite side of the map to where the SoloQGoats land. This was especially bad news for the Goats new playstyle. DiffQ told esports.gg on Friday that their new game plan focused around rotating early into zone. This is much harder to do when you have a long way to go.

It took a very impressive Game 6 for the SoloQGoats to secure their Pro League spot. They pulled out a vintage performance, dropping a huge 10 kills and securing second place.

Substitute player Unlucky was on top form, amply filling in for Zipeth who is off with COVID.

The 16 year old Austrian, who is a rising star in the Apex scene, made one of the plays of the day. He used the added movement on Valkyrie to maximum effect, dispatching Samsung Morning Stars with ease securing vital points for the SoloQGoats. Unlucky might have one of the most deadly Peacekeepers anywhere in Apex. The controller player will hope his efforts this weekend will help find him a new team for the next Pro League split.

It was a disappointing for the challenger circuit teams. Most of the relegated Pro League teams were able to recover their Pro League spot, seeing off the challenger teams.

Only Clique Esports failed to reclaim their Pro League spot for the second split. Does this show that there is already a skill gap developing between the Challenger and Pro circuits?

The question now is can these returning teams avoid the bottom of the next Pro League split? Will teams such as SoloQGoats and Phoenix Legacy be able to improve their showing and push towards play-off qualification in Split 2?

You can see the full standings for this weekend here.

Eyes will now turn to the Top 20 teams in the region, as they head into the Playoffs in 2 weeks time. Gambit, winners of the EMEA Pro League split 1 are widely considered the hot favourites to take the victory. However, SCARZ, who performed below expectations in the Pro League will hope to draw on their Apex Championship victory. The trio of Mande, Taisheen and RPR have a strong record of showing up when it matters.

For coverage of the ALGS playoffs and much more, stay tuned to esports.gg!