Reignite win ALGS Split 2 playoffs and NA teams perform well

The first Apex Legends LAN since 2019 took place this past weekend in Stockholm, Sweden. Reignite won the ALGS Split 2 playoffs, taking home $250,000 and 500 playoff points to secure their spot as the top qualifier for the ALGS 2022 Championship. From the significance of Reignite’s win to the strength of North American teams at the event, here are four takeaways from the ALGS Split 2 playoffs.

Reignite win with sub, make APAC South proud

The Japanese-owned org with an Aussie roster known as Reignite was not on many people’s radars to win the ALGS Split 2 playoffs. And they did it with a last-minute sub too after Noyan "Genburten" Ozkose tested positive for COVID. Jake "Jmw" Walters joined Rhys "Zer0" Perry and Rick "Sharky" Wirth for the tournament. They kicked off the finals by winning the first round and became match point eligible after five rounds like Team Liquid. It’s a good thing Reignite won Round 7 to win the finals because a whopping five teams became match eligible in Round 7, which would have put a lot more pressure on Reignite to win subsequent rounds.

Reignite’s win is something for the entire Asia-Pacific South region to be proud of. While North America, Europe and APAC North each sent 10 teams to the event, APAC South and South America each only sent five teams. Not only did Reignite win it all, three of the five APAC South teams made the finals. Their win might lead to more spots designated for APAC South teams at future global events.

Eight NA teams among top 20

Speaking of which regions are strongest … North American teams proved that NA is indeed one of the strongest regions with eight of the 10 teams reaching the 20-team finals. Team Liquid were the highest placing team in the region, finishing second. TL’s Brandon "FunFPS" Groombridge got the most eliminations in the tournament, earning “Apex Predator” honors. OpTic Gaming, which picked up the roster formerly playing under the Esports Arena banner, finished fourth. The fifth through seventh-place finishers were also North American teams: Luminosity Gaming, TSM and NRG.

Luminosity signs Mexican roster that finishes in top five

Arguably the most feel-good story of the tournament outside of Reignite was the performance of an unheralded Luminosity roster that finished fifth. The Mexican roster previously known as SCRY came out of relative obscurity to finish ninth in NA Split 2 to nab one of the final NA spots at the Split 2 playoffs. While playing as SCRY, Jacobo "NMEgo" Rios, Luis Enrique "Neazul" Ramos Suarez and Saul "YanYa" Ocampo Plascencia finished fourth at Nerd Street’s Winter Championship in March, but otherwise didn’t have any notable finishes.

In the ALGS Split 2 playoffs finals, Luminosity won Round 5. They became match point eligible in Round 7 and would have had a chance to win the entire tournament after that if Reignite had not won Round 7.

ALGS 2022 Championship on the horizon

Now that the ALGS Split 2 playoffs are over, Apex fans can turn their attention to the ALGS 2022 Championship. It was announced over the weekend that the championship would take place July 7-10 in Raleigh, North Carolina. We now know 30 of the 40 teams that have qualified for the ALGS Championship after playoff points were issued to the teams at the Split 2 playoffs. All eight NA teams that qualified for the Split 2 playoff finals have qualified. Those teams are OpTic Gaming, Team Liquid, Luminosity Gaming, TSM, NRG, Cloud9, 100 Thieves and Spacestation Gaming. They will be joined by eight teams from Europe, seven teams from APAC North, four teams from APAC South and three teams from South America.

The final 10 teams will be determined via Last Chance Qualifiers in each region. Each region will send two teams via their respective LCQs which all take place May 7-8.

Lead photo credit: EA via Twitter