The first event of the 2023 Apex Legends esports season has just begun, TSM are back on track, and a few fan favorites fell out earlier than planned.
The Apex Legends Global Series (ALGS) has come to an end after an eight-game final at the Copper Box Arena in London. TSM has won the Split 1 championship, reclaiming the championship title from DarkZero Esports, who won LAN tournaments in 2022.
TSM is well-known as a prominent team in the Apex Legends scene, known for achieving excellence in the North American region during the competition, while consistently placing in the top 10 to avoid elimination. NRG, their North American competitor, and the EMEA team Acend
The ALGS LAN Playoffs included three stages, the Group Stage, and the Bracket Stage, which took place from 2 to 3 February. JLINGZ Esports, a UK esports organization and rising EMEA team, impressed the London crowd but narrowly missed out on qualification for the finals.
100 Thieves and APAC North's NORTHEPTION from Japan failed to make it to the Finals stage on the Bracket Stage, but they failed to maintain that momentum throughout the bracket.
TSM won the Group Stage and finished second in the Bracket Stage, clinching their place in the final. Their opponents NRG finished the Group Stage just a few spots behind TSM, but they beat them in the Brackets on Day 3.
The ALGS LAN finals were played in a Match Point format, where teams had to earn at least 50 points (the match point) to have a chance of winning the championship.
TSM executed a well-timed late-game Valkyrie sky dive, giving them the advantage to eliminate the remaining teams and win the trophy.
TSM have set the bar high for the Apex Legends competitive scene with their ALGS Split 1 victory. Split 2 will take place in just a few weeks, and the team will begin their long road to defending their LAN crown.
TSM has made a significant comeback from their dominance of the Apex Legends scene for the longest time. Last year, they began to sag from that status due to an ever-changing meta, as well as their long-time third, Eric "Snip3down" Wrona, who plans to return to Halo Infinite at the end of 2021.
Evan "Verhulst" Verhulst, an extremely gifted controller player, has been recruited by the boys in black and white to replace Snip3down's aliases.
The team decided to hire a coach/analyst in the form of "raven" who played a significant role in this tournament victory. After winning the LAN trophy, he stated that his intention is to "simply continue winning."
Despite their accomplishment, raven expressed gratitude to North American rivals NRG, stating, "I will certainly shout out NRG too — they played a fantastic tournament."
