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After an intense four-day run, DarkZero have emerged victorious from the 2022 Apex Legends Global Series Championship.
This is one of the most intriguing success stories in title history. DarkZero, who joined Apex Legends on July 5 after signing the former Reignite roster, have won one of the biggest tournaments in the ALGS.
The victory would be more fulfilling for team captain Noyan “Genburten” Ozkose. The Australian-Turkish player was unavailable to help his team during the ALGS Split 2 Playoffs in Stockholm due to COVID-19.
However, the team won the event with Jake “Jmw” Walters, who was Genburten’s replacement for the tournament. With the Australian reunited with his compatriots, they won their second straight Apex title.
It was not an excellent start for DarkZero in the ALGS Championship. Although they finished 13th in the group stage, they failed to record a single kill in the first two maps. Fortunately, they went on an incredible spree to finish in the top 20 and secure a winners bracket berth.
Although DZ were the ultimate champions, they were not the first team to become ‘Match Point Eligible’. The ALGS format maintains that the first team to win a match after they are Match Point Eligible is declared the winner.
To get to that point, teams have to gather minimum total points of 50 in the finals. FURIA Esports were the first team on match point after accumulating 64 points in the first five rounds. Unfortunately, that single win to get over the hump seemed elusive.
DZ reached match point in Round 8, joining eight other teams who needed one victory to be declared champions. Where every other team failed, the Aussie team succeeded.
OpTic Gaming, TSM, and Cloud9 needed a victory to deny DZ and stop the tournament from ending. However, DZ collected six kills in the final circle to win first place.
FURIA finished second with 85 total points, the most in the finals. 100 Thieves, Fnatic, and GMT Esports round up the top five.
The tournament was rife with inconsistencies, as there were several complaints from players each passing day. Several teams complained of visa issues, with most having to field substitutes.
Sadly, Team Empire, who were considered one of the favorites to win the event, did not make it to Raleigh, North Carolina. All three Russian team players were denied visas, forcing the organization to withdraw from the competition.
AYM Esports replaced Team Empire in the competition but did not do as well as the Russian team might have done. They finished 14th with 46 total points and won US$24,000 after the nine-round finals.
Along with bragging rights, DZ walked away with $500,000 from the $2 million prize pool.
