The more things change, the more they stay the same: TSM are the 2023 Apex Legends Global Series champions, rushing to victory in the ALGS Championship grand final today and stunning the lobby with three consecutive match wins to seal their victory.
It’s a crowning achievement for TSM after a year in which they returned to the top of the competitive Apex scene internationally, and also one that will be particularly meaningful for ImperialHal. After many discussions over the last several months whether Hal is the greatest Apex player of all time or if it was DarkZero’s Rhys “Zer0” Perry, who won back-to-back LANs in 2022 and snatched the 2023 Split Two Playoffs after TSM had won in Split One, it’s safe to say that Hal is the Apex GOAT for the time being.
“I had a wish, being the greatest player alive, but also to win in front of my family,” Hal said after winning the championship. “I’ve checked those boxes.”
While Hal was overjoyed to win in front of his happy, it was also an emotional victory for the rest of the team, including coach raven, Evan Verhulst, and Hal’s longtime teammate Jordan “Reps” Wolfe. Hal and Reps won the very first ALGS LAN together when they took home the Preseason Invitational in 2019. Now, they’re world champions once again.
TSM’s victory was far from assured, as the team only accrued five points from the first three matches of the day, while OpTic Gaming charged out to match point after game three and nearly ended the Championship on game four, only to be denied by NRG in a nervy final three-vs-three fight.
TSM picked up some more points in games four and five but were still far down the table when they ground out a victory in game six to right the ship. They followed that up with a subsequent victory in game seven at their landing POI of The Wall, putting themselves on match point and denying other teams already on match point like OpTic, BLVKHVND, FaZe Clan, LG Chivas, and more.
For their final trick, TSM managed to win crucial fights outside of Thunder Watch to take a commanding position in the final zone, in near identical fashion and position as their ultimate victory at the Split One Playoffs earlier in the year.
Ultimately, it was another great tournament for North America and APAC South, as the two regions dominated the final leaderboard. OpTic took second place, while iiTzTimmy’s The Dojo lead up a North American trio in fourth, fifth, and sixth, with LG Chivas and FaZe right behind them. For APAC South, BLVKHVND were rewarded for consistently great performances across the weekend with a third-place finish, while the ever-popular DreamFire finished in seventh, and the Thai trio of IronBloodGaming took home 10th.
Pioneers were the only EMEA representative in the top 10 at eighth place, and Realize represented APAC North in ninth. South America’s SAF Esports, the only team from the region in the finals, finished in 14th.
But the story was, and still is, TSM. The protagonists of Apex Legends are back on top once again, ready for more challenges to their throne.
