Team Liquid claim opening group victory: ALGS LAN A vs B

Team Liquid started the ALGS Playoff LAN in Stockholm strong, coming out on top in the Group A vs B showdown. Each group is playing eachother once in a marathon day, with a total of 18 games per team.

While winning the group doesn't earn you anything extra, Liquid will be delighted with their total of 63 points. The top 20 teams from the group stage advance to the winners bracket.

Teams will get a small break before resuming play to continue the group stage slog.

Team Liquid came out of the gates in fantastic form. They secured a 1st, 2nd and 3rd placement across Storm Point. They slowed down slightly on Worlds Edge, but still kept their points total ticking over.

Their Storm Point knowledge is some of the best in the world.

They travelled early towards Shipfall, and took a very strong position on top of the wing of the ship. Using Loba, they sucked up loot using her Black Market as teams fought underneath them. This safety first approach helped them secure strong placements across all their Storm Point games.

However, they also held positions down. In their winning game, they had to resist several teams walking into their building. They racked up 6 of the first 12 kills in game 2 and went on to win the game. They did it in style, with 17 kills and racking up 29 total points - almost half their overall total.

Team Liquids Nocturnal said that confidence is "at an all time high" in the post game interview. With "new born puppy" Gilderson, Team Liquid have really returned to the top of the Apex Legends scene. The signs were there as they performed strongly in the final week of the Pro League - can Team Liquid lock in that top 20?

Scarz were hit by a unfortunate positve COVID test for Gibraltar player Mande yesterday.

Due to the strict ALGS Covid rules, this has meant that Mande is disqualified. iPN, formerly of Alliance, stepped in. However, the lateness of this withdrawal means that Scarz have not been able to practice with iPN and it showed. They struggled to just 10 overall points. The defending ALGS Champions of EMEA may not qualify to defend their title if things don't improve.

Their rustyness as a unit was shown in Lava City. The Scarz team overextended when trying to third party a moshpit of teams, and were punished underneath. It felt like a bit of a miscommunication, RPR the IGL wanted them to play slow, while iPN and Taisheen were really committing.

Mande, Taisheen and RPR are one of the longest serving teams in Apex, and that unbreakable chemistry they have will be sorely missed. They'll be hoping to close the gap on teams like Team Liquid in their remaining 12 matches.

Full standings on Battlefy.

Can Team Liquid maintain their strong form? Stay tuned to esports.gg to find out.