NA ALGS Championship Preview: Group A

The past 16 months of Apex Legends Global Series (ALGS) competition culminates starting on June 2nd with the ALGS Championship. North America's top forty teams are spilt into 4 groups. Each group plays every other group across the first three days. Four group winners and the 16 highest scoring other teams advance to the finals for a match point format series on June 13th.

Before all the action starts, these preview articles will breakdown the strengths, gameplay, and expectations of every squad. Likely drop spots and legend compositions will be listed, but are not final as teams continue to establish a gameplan.

1. TSM

Roster: ImperialHal (Octane), Reps (Gibraltar), Snip3down (Bloodhound)

Drop Spot: Fragment East

Team Solo Mid are widely regarded as the premier team in the scene. ImperialHal is the self-proclaimed "CEO of Apex" and has accumulated the most tournament earnings in the world. Reps has played by Hal's side since the inception of the game. Their strong chemistry combines with Snip3down's storied FPS experience make frightening squad. Coming off a 1st place finish in GLL Master's Spring, expectations are very high. Fans anticipate TSM will win Group A and bring home at least top five in the finals.

Hal's powerful in-game leader (IGL) skills, Reps' intimate knowledge of Gibraltar gameplay, and Snip3down's raw fragging ability place TSM on the top of this group. Fragment East provides high tier loot and a centralized location for fast rotations. Dropping Frag East has also been a constant in their game since Fuel Depot was removed in Season 4.

The only question mark surrounding their performance in the Championship is how they will adapt to the big updates implemented after the last major tournament. The new legend, Valkyrie, possesses a very strong kit and enables teams invent quicker rotations. During the early scrims this weekend, TSM did not try out Valkyrie, but instead stick with their Octane, Gibraltar, and Bloodhound composition. Familiarity could help them continue dominance or they could find themselves lagging behind without a Valkyrie.

2. CLG

Roster: ImMadness (Wraith), Lou (Gibraltar), Vaxlon (Bloodhound)

Drop Spot: Eastern Skyhook/Routing Tunnel

CLG is another example of an incredibly mechanically strong team whose players specialize in their preferred legends. Despite their strength on paper, CLG slumped earlier this year when they finished 20th and 17th in Winter Circuit #3 and #4 respectively. Playing under the banner of a top organizations comes with great expectations. Luckily Madness and crew bounced back by bringing home 4th place in both the Winter Circuit Playoffs and GLL Masters Spring.

The return to success came from switching to a new drop spot. During their bottom 5 performances they were contested at West Fragment by the former KSZ squad (now signed to Cloud9). Moving to Routing Tunnel and Eastern Skyhook has brought back CLG's old form. With a location secured, they should have no problem making it out of this group. Similarly to TSM, it is hard to imagine any of these players switching legends to add Valkyrie. Especially Madness who is a day one Wraith player and arguably top three on her. In order for them to be in contention for first place, macro-game and zone calls have to be highly effectively.

3. Sentinels

Roster: Retzi (Gibraltar), Crust (Caustic), Senoxe (Valkyrie)

Drop Spot: Sorting Factory

Sentinels is a former powerhouse and was a name to be feared before Zombs left the team just over a year ago. Since then, Sentinels have been slightly outside of the elite tier of teams and seem to lack the spark of the original roster. Winter Circuit was especially rough with 12th, 19th, 12th, and 7th place finishes capped off by 18th in the Playoffs. GLL Masters Spring wasn't much better; they placed 13th and frequent faced a contest off drop at Sorting Factory.

Retzi's IGL style is unique and often quite flexible. Sentinels seize opportunities as they see them and adapt on the fly. In some cases, their approach finds them caught off guard or stuck in a bad position. Switching back to Caustic shored up this weakness. His barrels allow Crust to solidify unfavorable positions preventing pushes in the crowded late game. Senoxe's move to Valkyrie slides perfectly into this reactive playstyle. Her kit creates innovative plays and restores faith that this team can be elite again.

Sentinels' main worry is that all three members are playing new legends. Mastering a character takes considerable time and in high level lobbies hesitation is deadly. It would be a massive disappointment if this team fails to reach the finals. They've looked scary in recent scrims and if the trio is confident in the new roles, Sentinels could reclaim their glory of old.

4. 2 Brains 1 Controller (2B1C)

Roster: Teq (Crypto or Valkyrie), Peesh (Gibraltar), SlurpeeG (Bloodhound or Valkyrie)

Drop Spot: Countdown

Teq is somewhat of an enigma in the scene. Despite pioneering Crypto, he has struggled to find a consistent team to mesh with his playstyle. The latest iteration of 2 Brains 1 Controllers features Peesh, formerly of Sentinels, and SlurpeeG, one of the top free agent controller players. The trio wants to build Valkyrie into their composition, but are still searching for the best way to fit her in. Both Teq and Slurp played the newest legend in scrims.

Legend choice could depend on whether or not they face a contest at Countdown. Ranked is Harder, our next entry in the article, challenged Teq's squad for the location in scrims. 2B1C has won a lot of the early fights during practice, so there is a chance they've already earned the spot. But we won't know for sure until tournament day. SlurpeeG will likely play Bloodhound if they face a 50/50, otherwise expect to see him on Valkyrie and Teq on the signature Crypto. This team should make it to finals, but 2B1C is volatile and a contest adds further uncertainty.

5. Ranked is Harder

Roster: iZeroplus (Bloodhound), Dropped (Gibraltar), sYnceDez (Octane or Valkyrie)

Drop Spot: Countdown

When Ranked is Harder was formed, the group was purely for fun. After earning 2nd in Winter Circuit #1 and a disappointing 19th in Winter Circuit #2, the team didn't play the next two tournaments. Their second place qualified them for Winter Playoffs where they flopped. Before champs registration, Rogue, the most well-known ranked grinder, parted ways with the team. Replacing him with sYnceD shows commitment to playing their best. sYnceD played with Soniqs in the early days of Apex and more recently he competed on We Know Shroud(WKS)/Dying on Rotate.

New look Ranked is Harder has a very high ceiling. Dropped's incredible dominance on Rogue speaks for itself and Zero proved he can hang with the big boys in Winter Circuit #1. sYnceD consistently provided the highest impact on WKS. He was by far the best player not yet on a Championship team and the most logical substitution. If these guys dedicate themselves to the championship, they will make the finals without a problem. If not, we've seen what happens to an unmotivated Ranked is Harder in Winter Circuit #2.

Teams hope to return to LAN competition for Apex's next big event

6. My Little Phony (MLP)

Roster: Rambeau (Revenant or Bloodhound), Phony (Gibraltar), Fury (Octane)

Drop Spot: Uncertain (Lava Fissure in GLL Spring)

Rambeau is the star of My Little Phony. His hard-hitting aggression on the controller was integral to Flash Point's phenomenal run in the Autumn Circuit. After OddFreestyle retired, Flash Point spilt and Rambeau bounced around a few pickup teams. Phony and Fury are both veterans of the scene who have been together for most of their experience. The duo previously signed with 303 Esports but now play for Team Pringles in the Esports Arena.

This squad debuted in GLL Masters Spring and looked shaky at times but competent enough for 8th place. My Little Phony relied heavily on placement. In fact, they were the only team in the top 15 without a game of more than 5 kills. A major point of interest is their legend choice. Rambeau has been the only Revenant during scrims. The "Revtane" composition was popularized by Alliance in EU, but the creators are not even using Revenant in the current meta. If MLP sticks with an off-meta selection, it will be fascinating to see how they fare. Phony and crew might be fighting for one of the last finals spots.

7. Down with the Thiccness (DWT)

Roster: Hiarky (Gibraltar), Hundredz (Octane), G7Dank (Bloodhound)

Drop Spot: Uncertain (Countdown in GLL Spring)

All three players on DWT are no strangers to competitive apex. Hiarky was central to Godsent's consistency at the beginning of the online era. G7Dank signed with IceForce Esports for a brief period. Hundredz played under a Esports Arena Season 1 contract with Team Pringles.

Although DWT has a slew of experience, they are lacking a clear IGL and are often eliminated due to poor positioning. Forming less than two months ago puts them at a disadvantage. These guys will need to rely heavily on Hundredz's rich FPS experience and find some dank G7s if they want a chance at finals.

8. Team XD

Roster: Frapper (Gibraltar or Caustic), Helping (Octane or Wraith), Moni (Crypto)

Drop Spot: Uncertain (Harvester in GLL Spring

Team XD is plagued by mediocrity. They failed to reach the finals in GLL Masters Spring and didn't qualify for Winter Playoffs. Throughout 8 months together, they never finished higher than 15th in a large event.

Without participation in recent major tournaments, we can't get a good idea of what their team composition will look like next week. However, in GLL Semis, they fielded a squad of Caustic, Crypto, and Horizon, so it wouldn't be a surprise if Team XD looks a bit different from the rest in the championship. A long history of middling results suggests that they will end in the bottom half.

The newest legend, Valkyrie, could play a critical role in next week's championship

9. Kanaka's Pets

Roster: Faide (Wraith), Kasellos (Caustic), Kanaka (Gibraltar or Bloodhound)

Drop Spot: Uncertain

Faide is known throughout Apex as a mechanical superstar in pubs. Despite his raw skill, he has not achieved anything close to superstardom in tournaments. Faide and Kasellos narrowly qualified for the open stage at the infamously cancelled Texas LAN. After the COVID cancellation, the duo played off and on in online tournaments. They never once made finals. In January the current version of Kanaka's Pets came together, but they still continued their shaky run.

This team has not competed in over two months and prior to that there is no tape of their gameplay due to lack of semifinal coverage. Even if we were able to recover some gameplay, it would be a far cry from the current meta. Kanaka's drop spot and team composition are complete unknowns. We will update this if more info comes out, but currently Faide is expected to miss out on another final.

10. Pubstars

Roster: Lutziana (Octane), Vflhunter (Bloodhound), MoChances (Gibraltar)

Drop Spot: Uncertain (Lava City in LCQ)

Pubstars is a team we know little about. The last chance qualifier for this tournament served as their debut to the competitive arena. Despite not playing competitively, they have all been hooked on the game from day one. MoChances recent transferred from the console community. Lutziana is notably the only female contestant in North America. The trio is unproven, but could certain surprise. Anyone in the Championship has no difficulty fragging, but Pubstars' rotations and leadership could drag them down. Lack of experience and recent formation of the team is why they rank at the bottom of this group for now.

Look for the other group previews throughout the week. The full power ranking will be released on Monday May 31st!