The final day of EMEA Pro League action concluded this afternoon, ending a sprint that squeezed the entire second split into six consecutive days. Team Empire subdued their rivals in the contest between Groups A and C as both Pro League lobbies played simultaneously.
Empire won two of the six games played, earning first place in the overall league standings and a $30,000 check for their efforts. Players, the former Gambit powerhouse, grabbed second place overall and $15,000.
Today’s matches also finalized the EMEA teams that will attend the $1 million Stockholm LAN and awarded $125,000 total for regular season performances. Only the top 10 overall get a spot in the Stockholm LAN.
The first three games were played on World’s Edge. By the tunnel north of The Dome, Players, Empire and SoloQgoats fought each other in a classic endgame. Empire swooped in for the win after Players and SoloQgoats were forced to fight early. Their Mad Maggie pick on World’s Edge has more than paid off during the latter part of Pro League play, proving the legend can be highly effective in the hands of the right team.
Game two’s early minutes were bloodthirsty, leaving just 11 squads alive before the start of round three. Players, Horizon, and SeComportaYa made the top three. But in a near replay of the scenario from game one, Horizon and SeComportaYa had to fight first, giving Players an easy victory. After just two games, Players and Team Empire were well ahead of the pack and they only continued to dominate.
The final battle on World’s Edge was fought outside Countdown, where Kungarna had an ideal spot above the competition. But ANC Outplayed beat the odds by overcoming Kungarna in the last fight, using clever shield swaps and well-placed shotgun blasts to prevail.
Players and Team Empire remained at the top of the standings. Kungarna’s strong results in the first half of the day put them in good standing to qualify for Stockholm if they could keep up the pace.
The Storm Point games started with a zone at The Mill, where Phoenix Legacy, Players, and Kungarna all grabbed safe buildings. Pandemonium broke out when three Valkyrie teams landed on the small zone simultaneously. NAVI, in a must-win situation after starting the day in 25th place, looked to evict Phoenix Legacy from their house but failed. As the final circle moved toward the gravity cannon behind The Mill, Phoenix Legacy pushed late, getting third place. Kungarna weren’t healthy enough to fend off GMT Esports, who’d managed to avoid the brunt of the fighting.
Players remained in first. Many teams in the lobby were within a single point of each other, and with only two games to go, the leaderboard was hardly decided. Game five went down in the area between Checkpoint and Cascade Falls. SCARZ survived into the late game with Kungarna, but Reply Totem easily dispatched both teams in the final circle with much better positioning and confident shooting.
The final game left teams like SoloQgoats desperate to rack up enough points to qualify for LAN. Thirsty for kills, they wiped out Game of Drones in the game’s first confrontation. SoloQgoats then went after Reply Totem but Kungarna swooped in, themselves hopeful for kills. SoloQgoats fell soon after, ending their hopes of attending the upcoming LAN. The zone pulled to the area outside North Pad, where Team Empire obliterated the competition, giving them two wins out of the six games played and showing they will be a serious contender to watch at Stockholm.
After the dust settled, the leaderboard showed that Kungarna missed qualification for LAN by two points. SCARZ, another team right on the cusp of qualifying, displayed enough brilliance to squeeze into the top 10, earning their spot in Stockholm with a three-point cushion.
The $1 million Stockholm LAN, which will mark a return to in-person competition for Apex esports after more than two years, begins on April 29.
