The Apex Legends Global Series Split 2 Playoffs have come to a close. Reignite from the APAC South region has emerged victorious after just seven games to be crowned champions of the first Apex Legends LAN in over two-and-a-half years. Their spoils include $250,000 and 500 Playoff Points towards the ALGS Championship later this year.
Image Credit PlayApex
Reignite Get to LAN
Reignite came into the ALGS Split 2 Playoffs LAN as the top seed from the APAC South region. The team consisted of Rhys “Zer0” Perry, Rick “Sharky” Wirth, and most notably Noyan “Genburten” Ozkose. Genburten is known for being one of, if not the best controller player in the entirety of Apex Legends.
With his raw firepower, Reignite were able to dominate APAC South. The region consisting of Southeast Asia and Oceania was historically weaker in Apex than North America, Europe, and APAC North. While it was unknown exactly how they would stand in the face of a global LAN, they would likely be able to keep up with the big boys.
Disaster Strikes
A day before the ALGS Split 2 Playoffs began, news came out that Genburten would be unable to participate in the LAN due to catching COVID during his bootcamp in Stockholm. Even if he got a negative test, he would not be able to come in at any point because of the roster lock.
Reignite needed a sub fast. They enlisted the help of Jake “Jmw” Walters from Kungarna EU, a team that narrowly missed qualifying for this tournament. If Reignite wanted to perform well in the ALGS Split 2 Playoffs, they needed to prove that they could compete at the highest level without their usual third.
Journey to Finals
Reignite’s campaign started in Group D. While they didn’t win any games during the Group Stage, they showed up very consistently in all three rounds. The team synergy between Zer0, Sharky, and emergency substitute Jmw was surprisingly good for a team that just started playing together days ago. With 5th, 9th, and 7th place finishes, Reignite managed to qualify for the Winners’ Bracket with 113 points, 13th place overall.
The next day, Reignite joined the other top 20 Group Stage finishers for a six-game match that would decide which 10 teams got a ticket straight to the finals. Despite starting off hot with back-to-back top fours, Reignite were only able to scrounge up seven points in their next three games. They would need to perform well in game six to secure a top 10 finish. It was here where Reignite earned their first win of the ALGS Split 2 Playoffs. They ended in 7th place overall, booking their ticket to Finals.
Winning the Championship
The ALGS Split 2 Playoff Finals would be on Match Point format. Teams had to first earn 50 points, then win a game to lay claim to the trophy. Reignite came into the Finals red hot, setting the pace with a game one victory. After just a single game, Reignite were half way to the crucial 50 mark. Steadily, they climbed higher and higher, never leaving the top two.
In game five, Reignite earned a top three finish with four kills, just barely enough to get them to 50. Finishing one spot ahead of them was Team Liquid, who also crossed the 50-point threshold. With these teams now on match point, every other team in the lobby now had reason to target anyone who they suspected could be Reignite or Liquid. (ALGS plays with anonymous mode, they can’t tell who is who, but they do know which teams usually come from where.)
Game six was shaping up to be the potential final game, as both Reignite and Liquid were alive going into the top five. However, both teams fell short of the mark after being targeted, leaving Team UNITE to take a victory and become the third team on match point.
The seventh and final game saw Liquid eliminated early. Reignite’s goal was now to target UNITE and win the game. After rotating to their spot, a Kraber found its way into the hands of Zer0. He used it to take down UNITE across the zone and buy his team a spot in final ring.
With three teams remaining, Luminosity Gaming tried to target Reignite with a Caustic ultimate. Sharky, the squad’s Gibraltar, got downed, signaling the end of their chances. However, neither Luminosity nor OpTic Gaming could finish him off. Sharky got revived then threw his Gibby bubble down and tossed his ultimate on the final two teams. With the last cover in the shrinking ring, Reignite cleaned up the final players and earned the ALGS Split 2 title.
