ALGS Year 3 Championship Bracket Stage begins, leading the way to Finals on Sunday

(Gray News) - The Year 3 Apex League Global Series (ALGS) Championship event started Wednesday in Birmingham, England. Forty teams from five different regions are competing for a $2 million prize pool that will be split amongst those who finish in the top twenty. The Finals on Sunday will decide who gets bragging rights next season in the ALGS Year 4.

The ALGS selected teams to compete in the Year 3 Championship by choosing the top thirty teams in playoff points and the ten teams who finished in the top two of their region in the Last Chance Qualifiers. Teams earned playoff points at the end of each Split of the regular season by placing highly in the Split Playoff. Last Chance Qualifiers gave teams who failed to scrounge up enough playoff points the opportunity to compete for the final spots in the championship.

The tournament’s first stage, the Group Stage, finished yesterday afternoon. The ALGS placed teams into four groups of ten. Groups competed in a round-robin format to try and accumulate as many points as possible. The top twenty teams in points moved to the winners bracket, while the bottom twenty teams moved to the losers bracket round one.

Winners Bracket

Each stage of the Bracket Stage is an eight-match series. Teams that have moved on to the winners bracket have the easiest path forward to the Finals. If a team finishes in the top ten, they move on to the Finals. Failing to do so moves a team into losers round two.

Several big names in the ALGS qualified for the winners bracket. OpTic Gaming have flourished so far in this tournament, placing first and second in their last two series of the Group Stage. Logan ‘Knoqd’ Layou, William ‘Skittlecakes’ August, and leader Mark ‘Dropped’ Thees are a dynamic trio that knows how to rack up eliminations and find their way into the last circle. Keep an eye on OpTic this weekend, as they appear in top form.

TSM has been a massive name in the ALGS since its inception. Their leader, Phillip ‘ImperialHal’ Dosen, has a talent for impressing fans with big plays and getting the most he can out of his teammates Jordan ‘Reps’ Wolfe and Evan ‘Verhulst’ Verhulst. They are always knocking on the podium door, so don’t be surprised if you see them go the distance.

DarkZero looks impressive as always and have avoided the temptation to ease off the gas in the group stage to save energy. Finishing first in the Group Stage with a whopping 176 points, it’s hard to see anyone getting in the way of DarkZero as they look to become back-to-back ALGS Champions.

Several Last Chance Qualifier teams also cracked the top twenty and reached the winners bracket. The Dojo, Iron Blood Gaming, and SAF Esports all fought tooth and nail to get an invite to the ALGS Championship and now find themselves in the best position to make it to the finals. The winners bracket is this Saturday at 7 AM EST / 6 AM CST / 4 AM PST.

Losers Bracket

Losers bracket round one is the only stage of the tournament on Friday. Teams failing to place in the top ten will be eliminated from the tournament and must pack their bags early. The top ten teams will meet the bottom ten of the winners bracket in losers round two.

Losers round one started today at 11 AM EST / 10 AM CST / 8 AM PST and will continue into the afternoon as teams go toe-to-toe in the eight-match series. Watch all the action on the official ALGS Twitch Stream or ALGS Youtube Broadcast.

Losers round two will follow winners on Saturday, starting at 12:30 PM EST / 11:30 AM CST / 9:30 AM PST. Finals close out the ALGS Year 3 Championship on Sunday at 11 AM EST / 10 AM CST / 8 AM PST.

Gray Television is an investor in OpTic Gaming.

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