DarkZero could well claim to be the best competitive Apex Legends team in the world, and I don’t think many people would argue with them. They won the first ALGS LAN, the Split 2 Playoffs, in May 2022, and have won two out of the subsequent three global LAN tournaments, with TSM picking up the only other victory on the biggest stage.
That’s not all. After their first ALGS LAN win playing for Reignite (which they played with a last minute substitute due to a positive COVID test for their star player), the trio signed to DarkZero and moved across the world in order to compete in the more competitive North American league. Before last weekend’s competition, they had to deal with Rick ‘Sharky’ Wirth dropping out because he wasn’t enjoying the game any more. Recruiting a new player is easier said than done, and picking up US wonderkid Rody ‘xynew’ Geissler over established name Beau ‘RamBeau’ Sheidy proved to be an inspired decision.
DarkZero has navigated a rocky road, and it was in-game leader (IGL) Rhys ‘Zer0’ Perry’s comfort with the Match Point format that gave DZ the edge over fan favourites TSM, who won the last Playoffs and finished second this time around. TSM actually outperformed the winners over the course of the week-long competition, but DarkZero turned it on when it counted. Match Point has never been TSM’s strongest suit, and it’s where DZ thrives. So long as the exciting format remains the ALGS’ method of deciding finals, you’d think that TSM either needs to adapt or flounder.
The event in London also cemented Zer0’s claim to the crown of best IGL in Apex. Phillip ‘ImperialHal’ Dosen may be known as the CEO, but Zer0 could be the meritocratic leader, superseding the game’s most popular player on a competitive level – and dealing with more hurdles than the TSM icon along the way. NRG’s Christopher ‘sweetdreams’ Sexton had previously been the only other name in serious contention, but successive failures at the biggest events and seeming to lose his unflappable sense of cool this weekend have demoted him from the conversation.
I’ve already mentioned Reignite’s incredible triumph in 2022’s Split 2 Playoffs, where Zer0 guided supersub Jake ‘jmw’ Walters to victory despite having never played together – or even spoken to each other – before. Jmw is a talented player, but adapting to losing star fragger Genburten and teaching your tactics to a newcomer during the competition shows a level of leadership that many Apex IGLs will never be able to match.
Despite the high-quality leadership on show at the Copper Box Arena, there was plenty of room for improvement when it comes to production. Numerous players had issues, ranging from broken chairs and peripherals, to game crashes at vital points. An entire match was paused in the early stages due to a problem with a player’s headset – interrupting a contested fight off the drop – but OpTic’s Mark ‘Dropped’ Thees crashed out with eight squads left in a match and nothing was done to mitigate the issue. “DZ gets a free win because of it AND gets match point,” he wrote on Twitter afterwards. Whether it impacted the outcome or not, these issues need to be addressed before the ALGS Championship comes to Birmingham in September.
From a viewer’s perspective, there were sadly more issues. The official stream was often laggy and choppy, and ALGS’ game changing Command Centre, where you can jump into the POV and comms of any team at any time, barely worked throughout the four-day event. Some fans claim that they couldn’t watch their team at any point in the weekend – KCP the unfortunate victims of this issue – and most agree that the system needs vast improvements before the Championship.
The one positive of the streams was Jack ‘NiceWigg’ Martin’s B-stream, which racked up over 60,000 viewers at its highest point as his passion and knowledge shone through the issues.
The ALGS Split 2 Playoffs 2023 feel like the epitome of the esport. DarkZero were dominant, with TSM pushing them all the way. Match Point remains the most exciting addition to esports, but the technical issues associated with streaming a battle royale marred an otherwise enthralling competition. And we’re still getting valid complaints that all three of this season’s LAN tournaments in the Global series are taking place in England. At least we’re heading outside of London for the Championship, I guess.