After a long four-month off-season, the Apex Legends Global Series is back. ALGS 2024 Split 1 begins on January 21. The top 30 teams in North America have qualified for the two-month-long league with the goal of being the best Apex team in the region. A $125,000 prize pool and 12 direct qualifier spots in the Split 1 Playoffs are on the line.
Image Credit EA | Joe Brady
While we could spend this time talking about how TSM and OpTic Gaming are primed to dominate as usual, we’d like to shine a light on the biggest roster changes and newly formed teams that could cause a shake-up in standings. Here is our list of the most interesting teams to watch heading into ALGS 2024 Split 1.
XSET
Starting with an easy one, XSET was already a top contender in NA throughout 2023. The squad, consisting of Brandon “Nocturnal” Singer, Brandon “FunFPS” Groombridge, and Nicholas “Sikezz” Odom, placed in the top four in every ALGS Pro League Split and Playoffs last year. Despite a disappointing 28th place at the ALGS Championship, XSET is still a considerable threat in any lobby they play in, even more so now in 2024.
XSET managed to grab up one of the hottest, if not the most desirable, free agents in the world coming into 2024. Israel “Koyful” Lawrence was hailed as a prodigy throughout 2023. The 17-year-old rose from “top five underrated controller player” status and into the spotlight while carrying Sentinels to the upper echelons.
While Sikezz wasn’t bad by any stretch, Koyful looks to be a different beast. And for the long-time duo of Nocturnal and FunFPS, Koyful could be precisely what they need to propel them to new heights.
Luminosity Gaming
LG made headlines this off-season by dropping the roster that placed fifth best in the world at the ALGS Championship 2023. The Mexican Luminosity Gaming squad has been with the org since April 2022. The second they earned their best result, they were gone just like that. What could make LG come to that decision?
The answer is the OTHER biggest free agent on the market. One of the longest standing orgs in Apex Legends, NRG, pulled out of the game this off-season. This left Christopher “sweetdreams” Sexton LFT. Top in-game leaders are a hot commodity, and getting one of the most viewed competitive Apex personalities with it is a deal too good to pass up.
Teaming up with sweet are “Slayr” and Nicholas “Fuhhnq” Wall. Both players have been circulating the NA Apex scene as up-and-coming controller players, with Fuhhnq getting some valuable Pro League experience on Meat Lovers last year. This is the first time these players are coming into such a high-pressure environment. It’s also the first time Sweet will work with a brand-new roster since 2021. Tracking their performance and progress will certainly be interesting.
Moist Esports
Last year, DarkZero Esports became the first Apex Legends team to move from their home region and come to NA to compete with the best teams in the world. Now, Moist Esports has followed in their footsteps. APAC South’s premier team had a phenomenal 2023, placing 6th, 7th, and 12th at the three global LAN events.
Of course, moving across the world isn’t the only change Moist will have to adapt to. They’ve also picked up Zachary “Gild” Dennis, formerly of NRG. Gild is a very respected controller player with experience playing under Sweetdreams and Nocturnal on Team Liquid. While his stocks were higher back on Liquid than they ended on NRG, Gild still has the potential to be a top fragger in ALGS. A change in team environment might be just what he needed to get back to form.
While Moist Esports is a great team, they have never hit the highs that DarkZero, formerly Reignite, did. It’s hard to predict how high Moist can place on the North American Pro League standings while adjusting to their new situation. Their goal is to win, and a top 12 to make LAN is their bare minimum expectation.
FURIA Esports
Another massive storyline this off-season was the rebuilding of FURIA Esports. FURIA made waves in 2022 by qualifying for the ALGS Championship through LCQ, then placing second in the world off the back of meta innovation and mechanical strength. At the center of this phenomenon was Jacob “HisWattson” McMillin, a ranked warrior turned in-game leader who earned MVP at the tournament.
HisWattson decided to step back from competitive Apex halfway through 2023, citing not enjoying the experience and wanting to focus on content creation. With FURIA deciding to blow up the rest of the roster at the end of the year, the opportunity opened for HisWattson to return to competition on his terms.
Joining HisWattson are Ryan “ImMadness” Schlieve and Keon “Keon” Berghout. Both players have a long history in Apex Legends and were playing together on an unsigned team called Already There. This arrangement was great for all parties. FURIA gets their roster featuring their Apex cash cow, Madness and Keon get signed to a tier one org, and HisWattson gets to play comp without IGL’ing. Still, this team has some fundamental questions to answer. How good will they be? And if they don’t win, then how long will they last?
