EA have revealed the next stage of the Apex Legends Global Series — announcing that Year 2 will feature a whopping $5 million prize pool, console crossplay, and LAN events for the burgeoning esport.
Apex Legends is one of the world’s biggest battle royales and, with efforts from EA and Respawn Entertainment, the game continues to push into esports.
Having hit some big viewership numbers during the ALGS NA Championship Finals, the team announced that they’re going bigger and better in the next season. And there are some interesting wrinkles this time around, as a bigger prize pool merits an expanded competitive ecosystem.
The obvious highlights are a $5 million purse and a return to live events, but Apex is also tweaking formats to suit a larger player base. Those latter changes are encompasses in new competitive leagues.
ALGS Prize Pool & LAN Events
First things first, yes there will be $5 million available to the world’s greatest Apex players and yes those players will be able to compete for that money in-person (as long as conditions persist).
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As ALGS commissioner John Nelson told us back in January, the plans have always been for interregional competition on LAN. Those plans may soon be coming to fruition, starting with the season opener in September 2021 and leading to the ALGS Championship in July 2022.
ALGS console crossplay & leagues
For the first time in ALGS history, console players are getting the chance to join the fight in Year 2. PlayStation and Xbox players will be permitted to enter the fray, but will have to use “PC-value aim assist settings” (as detailed in the ALGS blog).
Additionally, the ALGS will open up competition to both the pro and amateur scenes through the ALGS Pro League and Challenger Circuit. These two leagues are hoped to benefit multiple tiers of Apex esports internationally, focused on five regions: North America, EMEA, APAC South, APAC North, and South America.
With prize pool, live events, and league format details announced, it looks like the Apex Legends Global Series is gaining momentum. As more information becomes available, we’ll keep fans up to speed on our site and on Twitter.