Apex Legends is a team game at its core, and the Apex Legends Global Series is that team game’s greatest stage. There is no better barometer for a team’s skill and relative strength in the game.
Thankfully, 2022 was also the year that Apex returned to LAN and true international competition on an even playing field. That means fans finally got a glimpse of just how far some teams had come, and how different regions stacked up against each other. Some strong contenders from the game’s early days were still at the top, while new teams and regions surprised just about everyone at the same time.
The best teams, however, were the ones that stayed consistent for long stretches of the year in LAN tournaments, Pro League, and elsewhere. Some of those teams did that by sticking with what they knew, while others did it by innovating and being fearless in their gameplay. But results are still king, and all of these teams got them.
Here are the best Apex squads of 2022.
Best Apex Legends in 2022
10) OpTic/Esports Arena
While the second half of their year wasn’t what they were hoping for, it’s difficult to imagine the first half of Apex in 2022 without thinking about the Esports Arena squad that would go on to sign with OpTic Gaming just before the Split Two Playoffs in Stockholm, Sweden. Taking home third in the online Split One Playoffs for North America and then proving it on LAN with a fourth place in Split Two, the team of Skittlecakes, dooplex, and Knoqd became synonymous with the Valkyrie, Gibraltar, and Caustic composition that dominated so much of last season’s ALGS. Some regional final heroics weren’t quite enough to secure OpTic another return to the first LAN of 2023 in this season’s Pro League, but don’t be surprised if the Green Wall comes back with a vengeance.
9) Moist Esports/Team Burger
The Aussie sensations known as Team Burger got picked up by Moist Esports after their free-agent heroics at the Split Two Playoffs and the ALGS Championship, becoming the only team not representing an org to make the grand final lobby in both LAN events of 2022. They kept up that clutch form in year three of ALGS, putting on one of the most impressive displays in recent memory in the APAC South regional final. In danger of missing out on the first LAN of 2023, the Moist boys won three games in succession to reach and win the match point finals, securing their place at LAN and their spot on this list.
8) PULVEREX/Team Unite
Ftyan, Lejetta, and saku of Team Unite were already one of the best teams in APAC North and the world on the basis of their placements early on in 2022, taking home second in APAC North’s Split One Playoffs and third at the Split Two Playoffs LAN. But it was what they did at the ALGS Championship, where they didn’t even make the grand final, that arguably boosted their stock even more. Forced to play the decisive stages of the event as a duo after positive COVID tests for saku and then their coach and first-day sub, ChaNRiyo, Ftyan and Lejetta captured the hearts and minds of the Raleigh crowd under the rebranded PULVEREX banner. Despite their massive disadvantage, the team fought hard until the end, impressing with both their fighting skills and their ratting ability when endzones got hectic. While they didn’t finish in the top 20, they still managed a 25th-place finish, well above several teams competing as trios.
7) NRG
NRG is a tough one to place in many respects. If we went purely off of ALGS tournament placements, their performances in 2022 were a bit underwhelming, with the team never truly fulfilling their form in North American play at LAN with seventh and ninth place finishes in the Split Two playoffs and ALGS Championship, respectively. It’s difficult to find a more dominant team in just about any other tournament, however, and what might be underperformances for Sweet, nafen, and Gild in ALGS play would still be huge successes for most other teams in the game. With a strong end to Pro League play in Split One and their spot at LAN secured in 2023, look for next year to be the one where NRG finally breaks through on LAN.
6) Aurora/Team Empire/MajorPushers
From free agents to multiple organizations, there were few teams as innovative or entertaining as the current Aurora lineup of RANCHES, cleaveee, and Maliwan. Known for running off-meta compositions, aggressive playstyle, and their mechanical ability on mouse and keyboard, the trio proved themselves on LAN in Sweden with an eighth-place finish while running strange legend picks at the time like Bangalore and Mad Maggie. Visa issues and European conflict prevented the Russian trio from competing at the ALGS Championship in Raleigh, but the team picked up where they left off in the current season of ALGS, finishing first overall in Split One for EMEA and second in the match point regional final. Their name might not be MajorPushers anymore, but don’t expect that to save your favorite squad when Aurora has them in their sights.
5) Alliance
One of the most consistently great teams in the world, Alliance was always in the conversation for winning a trophy in 2022. And while they didn’t take one home, they still managed to perform what might be the most impressive feat in ALGS in 2022. After a poor run of form to begin last season’s second split, Alliance needed a miracle to qualify for the Split Two Playoffs on their home turf in Stockholm. Hakis, Vaifs, and Yuki delivered on that miracle, winning their final two Pro League lobbies back to back. While Alliance might not have achieved the LAN placements they wanted in 2022, they’ll be back in 2023 after dominating the first split of year three in EMEA.
4) Fnatic/GameWith
If the return to LAN was good for anything, it was showcasing the mechanical brilliance of teams in regions outside of North America and Europe, like the trio of YukaF, MatsuTash, and Meltstera. The team announced their presence with a solid ninth-place finish at the Split Two Playoffs under GameWith before being acquired by Fnatic and impressing at the ALGS Championship by finishing fourth. And if anything, it seems like Fnatic just keeps getting better, finishing first in APAC North for the first split of the current season of Pro League. When 2023’s first LAN rolls around in London next month, expect more highlight reel fights from this squad.
3) XSET/Team Liquid
It would have been easy for the current XSET roster’s story to be a tragedy. Containing some of the Apex scene’s most veteran talents in IGL Nocturnal and coach Hodsic, Liquid emerged from a lackluster 2021 by coming on strong at the beginning of 2022. The team broke out with a second-place finish at the Split Two Playoffs LAN, following it up with a 12th at the ALGS Championship. But just when it seemed like things would go south for the roster, from Gild leaving for NRG to Liquid deciding they were getting out of competitive Apex, the roster just kept rolling. Now signed to XSET, Nocturnal, Fun, and Sikezz finished second in the first split of Pro League to finish the year and will enter the Split One Playoffs in 2023 as one of the favorites to win.
2) TSM
Death, taxes, and TSM. Hate them or love them, it’s undeniable that TSM was one of the best teams in the world in 2022. From a victory in North America’s Split One Playoffs to begin the year to multiple top-10 finishes at LAN and a dominating performance that saw them win the first split of Pro League in year three, TSM was and is one of the best teams in the world and are constantly a threat to win anything that they’re in. And while there were initial questions about the addition of Verhulst to replace Snip3down, he’s quickly calmed any fears and proven he’s one of the best controller players in the world. Accuse them of falling off at your own risk.
1) DarkZero/Reignite
From APAC South to North America, the former Reginite squad has proved the doubters wrong again and again. The trio of Zer0, Sharky, and Genburten are back-to-back LAN champions (with an assist from emergency sub Jmw in the Split Two Playoffs), reigning ALGS Champions, and successfully moved to NA and qualified for LAN in a new region. And while the top APAC South squads have more than proven themselves as strong competitors at LAN, it’s also difficult to say that NA doesn’t provide a greater challenge across the board. Faced with not qualifying for 2023’s Split Two Playoffs, DarkZero proved they were clutch once again in match point format, taking second place in the NA regional finals and sliding into the 10th and final LAN qualification spot. In a year when teams in NA, EMEA, and APAC North though they would decide amongst themselves whose region was best, it was a trio of Aussies who were undeniably the best Apex team in the world.
