On the final day of Pro League action, Alliance completed one of the most dramatic comeback stories in Apex Legends history, winning their second matchday in a row and qualifying for the Apex Legends Global Series Split Two playoffs.
With their backs against the wall after four matchdays and in desperate need of a miracle in the middle of day five, the squad put together one of the greatest runs of games the ALGS has ever seen, winning two games in a row and placing fourth on Saturday, March 26 to win their lobby, then repeating the feat on Sunday, March 27 with another game win, two second-place finishes, and a third. The Pro League leaderboard remained extremely tight on the final day of competition.
Game one lived up to the hype, with teams hunkering down and seeking any sliver of cover they could find to survive in the final circles outside of Lava Siphon. In the end, it was T-REX who took the high ground and won the battle.
The game was also a near-perfect start for Alliance, who have struggled to get off to a good start this split. Caustic player Oscar “Yuki” Jiang discovered the best possible hiding spots among the yellow rock formations in World’s Edge when the team appeared to be destined for a “good-not-great” finish in game one. Yuki’s ability to shield himself above the fighting and even pick up an extra kill ensured Alliance finished second in the game, just three points behind T-REX at the top of the day’s leaderboard, where T-REX was tied with Zeta Division.
The endgame in game two was nearly identical, and Alliance used the lessons learned in game one to correct their previous mistakes. They were the team in charge of clearing the high ground overlooking the geyser just outside Lava Siphon this time. They made no mistakes with all the space in the final ring to work with.
The Alliance tear didn’t let up. Beginning with game four of yesterday’s matchday, Alliance finished first, first, fourth, second, and first in a row to keep their playoff hopes alive. After the first two games of the day, they were in first place in their lobby, with Zeta Division and K1CK Esports close behind them due to high kill totals in game two. Alliance wasn’t yet running away with it, but they were in a good position early on.
The Alliance train finally came to a halt in game three, when the team was pinched between Rebel Esports and 69iQ. That momentum carried 69iQ all the way to victory.
The results made an already tight lobby even tighter, with Alliance clinging to first place by a hair’s breadth, thanks largely to their seven kills in game two. K1CK improved to second place yet again and entered the Storm Point games just one point behind Alliance. At the top of the table, Zeta Division and 69iQ were still very much in the picture. All four teams’ playoff spots were still up in the air, with K1CK the only team in the EMEA Pro League’s top ten entering the day.
The lobby got even closer in game four, when Invictus International, another team vying for a playoff spot, prevailed despite a chaotic final circle.
With the Alliance holding the last available space inside The Mill and iG on the verge of collapsing behind their meager cover, game four appeared to be another Alliance victory. A sloppy engagement with High Society, on the other hand, meant Alliance would finish second, allowing iG, playing as a duo, to third party and win. Fortunately for Alliance, their closest competitors on the day all left much earlier, allowing them to extend their lead despite not picking up many kills to go along with the second-place finish.
Alliance gradually increased their lead by finding the best spots to play from in the final zones and playing patiently. Their second-place finish in game five put them on the verge of winning the lobby, with an 18-point lead going into the final game of the day. Rascals, on the other hand, outlasted the rest of the lobby and caused havoc at the top of the leaderboard.
With the victory, Rascals moved up to fifth place on the day, but the storylines were all at the top of the leaderboard. Alliance, 69iQ, K1CK, and Zeta Division were ranked one through four going into the final game of the day. To make the playoffs, all four teams needed a good result. Throughout the day, all four teams had played consistently. And now, one game would determine who advanced to the playoffs and who would be forced to play at home.
Finally, after finishing eighth with no kills and finding themselves on the outside looking in at the final circles for the first time, Alliance needed a little help from the rest of the lobby. Rascals provided them with it.
When the dust settled and both lobbies were completed, the magnitude of Alliance’s achievement became clear: their two lobby wins in the final two days of Pro League, more than doubling their point total from the first four matchdays, had qualified the Swedish organization for the Stockholm LAN. K1CK and GMT Esports secured their spots in the LAN in the top four of Pro League overall, while iG and 69iQ just barely did enough to secure the last few spots in the playof Zeta Division, on the other hand, was crushed by disappointment after putting in a strong performance but falling six points short of 10th place.
EMEA’s incredibly close lobbies have finally revealed their winners and losers. Now comes the Split Two playoffs and LAN.