The Apex Legends Global Series continues with its second split as teams battle to earn their slots in the game’s championship event.
Running from April 29 to May 1, Split 2 will give us an extended weekend of Apex Legends action, with each team fighting their hardest to earn as many playoff points ahead of the Apex Legends world championship. Of course, in addition to the all-important points, there is also an impressive prize pool of $1 million, with the Sportsbooks taking home the lion’s share.
There’s a lot to play for and a lot to break down about this event, so let’s dive into the juicy details.
Who’s Playing At The Apex Legends Global Series Split 2 Playoffs?
Split 2 of the Apex Legends Global Series is capping things out with LAN playoffs in Sweden, featuring a whopping 40-team tournament. It’s a full-scale international event with some of the biggest teams from around the world participating.
The tournament is headlined by Sportsbook favorite Esports Arena, although we also see fan favorites like TSM, Cloud9, G2 Esports and Team Empire, as well as teams like Crazy Raccoon, GameWith, Dewa United Esports and many others representing smaller regions.
Each team at the event earned their spot through regional qualifiers, so it truly is a tournament featuring the best of the best in Apex. This means we’ll see teams from Europe, the Middle East and Asia, North America, South America, as well as Asia-Pacific North and South.
How Do The Apex Legends Global Series Split 2 Playoffs Work?
When it comes to the event format, the Split 2 playoffs are divided into three stages. First up is the group stage, where all 40 teams are split into groups of 10 and then play one six-match series against the other groups. This serves mostly as a seeding stage, as no team is eliminated. Instead, the top 20 teams start in the upper bracket of the next stage, while the other 20 start in the lower bracket.
Stage 2 of the tournament is the bracket stage. This is where the stakes are raised and tournament lives are on the line. The bracket stage is split into three parts, based on seeding from the group stage.
The top 20 teams that were seeded in the upper bracket essentially have two lives. They first all face off in a six-match series, with the top 10 advancing directly to the next stage (the finals), while the other 10 move down to the lower bracket second round.
Meanwhile, the teams that were seeded into the lower bracket from the group stage all face each other. This time, the top 10 advance to the lower bracket second round, while the other 10 are eliminated. Finally, the remaining 20 teams in the lower bracket Round 2 face off with the top 10 advancing to the finals, while the other 10 are eliminated.
Last but not least comes the finals. This is where the Sportsbook is decided once and for all. Here teams play matches and earn points based on results. Once a team racks up 50 points, they reach match point and will be crowned champions after winning one more match. Multiple teams can be on match point, so it becomes a real brawl where we could even see multiple teams battling for the trophy in one match.
Teams that performed well at the start of the event gain a slight edge at this stage, with the 10 teams that advanced from the upper bracket in the bracket stage starting with up to 10 points based on their placement. The first seed of the bracket stage starts the finals with 10 points, the second with nine points, and so on.
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Esports Arena | +800 |
| TSM | +900 |
| NRG | +1100 |
| Players | +1200 |
| Acend | +1400 |
| Alliance | +1400 |
| Cloud9 | +1400 |
| G2 Esports | +1400 |
| Invictus Gaming | +1400 |
| Team Empire | +1400 |
| aDRaccoon | +1600 |
| Crazy Raccoon | +1600 |
| GMT Esports | +1800 |
| K1CK | +1800 |
| Reignite | +1800 |
| Scarz Europe | +1800 |
Odds as of April 21 at Sportsbook
Esports Arena Looks To Continue Regional Success At Split 2 Playoffs
Coming from North America, Esports Arena is at the forefront of the Apex Legends competitive scene. The NA region has historically been very strong, with now the two biggest favorites for this event coming from the region.
Esports Arena is the slight favorite at +800, which signifies implied odds of 11.11 percent according to our Super Calculator. Such huge odds for a favorite show that the event is set to be a competitive one, although there is still good reason to back Esports Arena.
The team enters the Split 2 playoffs as North America’s top seed, having comfortably won the region’s Pro League while showing some very impressive performances. With NA being one of the top regions in Apex, it only makes sense for Esports Arena to be the front-runner.
With that being said, it still will be a competitive tournament. With 40 teams attending and a mix of different international styles, it’ll take more than raw skill to win. Teams will need to show they can evolve with the tournament and handle everything thrown at them. Esports Arena has definitely proven they have the skills regionally, but it remains to be seen if they’ll be able to adapt and overcome the challenges they’ll face from international competition.
Can TSM Take Back-To-Back Split Playoff Titles?
TSM is another key team to watch at the Split 2 playoffs, coming in as reigning North American champions from Split 1. They convincingly took home the trophy in January, when teams competed on a regional level, coming out almost 30 points ahead of second place.
The North American side will be doing all they can to continue their split playoff streak, although they will have to bounce back from a tough Pro League result. TSM finished seventh in NA’s Pro League, failing to make any impact after a strong start and crumbling as the event went on.
They’ve shown they have what it takes to win it all before and will definitely have a lot to prove after a disastrous Pro League. For TSM, the stakes will be incredibly high and we’ll just have to see if they can handle the pressure.
EMEA’s Unexpected Top Seed Looks To Create Apex Legends Empire
Team Empire unexpectedly enters as EMEA’s top seed, having made a massive upset in topping the region’s Pro League. The underdogs managed to overcome some of the region’s best, including Players (aka Gambit), Acend and Alliance in a stunning run.
The Russian team is now poised to lead EMEA to success in the Split 2 playoffs, coming in with a huge boost of confidence and the wind in their sails. They’ve proven they can take down the best in the region and it will be very interesting to see how they can do against international competition.
While the players definitely have the skill, one thing they lack is experience. This will be the biggest event this roster has ever played at, which may lead to some nerves and uncharacteristic mistakes. However, if they can overcome the nerves and quickly grow throughout the event, they could do some real damage.
