The Apex Legends Global Series (ALGS) completed Year Four yesterday, and the new Year Five season is bringing several changes before kicking off later this month.
ALGS Year 5 has opened registration for Preseason Qualifiers, giving players who are at least level 50 a chance to qualify for the first LAN of the season. This first LAN kicks off on February 22.
There will be three LAN events total in Year 5, just like last year. However, the first one (ALGS Open) will have a new format with 160 teams. These teams will include the 120 Pro League teams around the world, along with 40 other teams from the Preseason Qualifiers. The teams will compete for $1 million in a double-elimination bracket.
The last LAN events are the Midseason Playoffs and the year-end Championship. Both of these will have the returning format featuring a 40-team Group Stage and Bracket Stage.
Besides the first LAN change, there are also changes coming to legends bans. After every match in a series, the legend that was chosen the most won’t be in the pool of legends. If an entire class is removed (Assault, Controller, Recon, Skirmisher, or Support), then the legend that’s been on the ban list the longest will be brought back.
The goal is to introduce more variety into ALGS games. This keeps things fresh for viewers while also showing off pro players’ skills. These bans will be used in Pro League, Pro League Qualifier, Last Chance Qualifier, and the three LAN events.
The maps included in ALGS maps are also changing. World’s Edge and Storm Point will still be there, while Broken Moon and E-District are joining the pool. The Preseason Qualifiers will only feature World’s Edge and Storm Point, though. This gives players more time to prepare for Broken Moon and E-District.
The way prizes are distributed is also changing. In the past, all LAN events have awarded the top 20 teams money from the overall $5 million pool. Now, ALGS Open will distribute money to the top 40 teams. The Midseason Playoffs and Championship will give money to the top 30 teams.
Points are also being reworked to focus on players instead of just teams. Playoff Points are now Championship Points, and they’ll be tied to players. This combination of points on teams will be used as qualifiers for the Championship. It’ll also create a global leaderboard.
Pro League Points from Regional Finals are also being reworked, awarding more points to account for the difficulty of these matches. Players will need to play at least 10 matches in the Preseason Qualifier and Challenger Circuit tournaments to receive points for their team’s placement.
Additionally, there will now be POI Drafting to the Pro League Qualifier and Last Chance Qualifier.
Last but not least are the region changes. North and South America are being combined to form The Americas. This means that there are four regions in the ALGS: The Americas, EMEA, APAC North, and APAC South.
These changes are being seen in other games as well — League of Legends recently combined all the regions within the Americas to become the Championship of the Americas.
The Apex Legends Global Series also released details for each of the competitions here for Year Five. Although there aren’t too many dates yet, there is a breakdown of every series and main competitions.
Apex Legends will also be returning to the Esports World Cup 2025 this year.
