Inspirational Sweetdreams maintains NRG’s winning streak

The gap between pro leagues week 3 and 4 has not been a quiet one for North American Apex, with several $10,000 Apex Legends tournaments being hosted in recent weeks. NRG has been on fine form in recent days, and they kept their momentum going with another win in the Steel Series Prime Apex Cup.

Some of the very best in Apex Legends went head to head on Worlds Edge, with the Prime Cup being played across 12 games, 6 on each day. 15 teams were invited, and then 5 teams, including Renegades and Furia esports earned their place through qualifying.

The top 5 in the SteelSeries Prime cup were as follows:

NRG, who recently secured a victory in the Series E 10k invitational with some unique off meta character selections, returned to traditional legends this weekend. However, NRG showed their true flexibility, securing a comfortable victory back on their usual legends.

This puts them in a strong position for the weekend's pro league action, where one more strong performance could put qualification for the first Apex LAN since 2019 beyond question.

In particular, NRG shot caller Sweetdreams was in exceptional form both with his team leadership, and individual performance. This resulted in an incredibly consistent performance, with NRG finishing in the final 4 squads in 8 of the 12 games, and inside the top 10 teams in 11 of the 12 games.

A particular highlight of Sweetdreams performance was a truly inspirational solo rampage in game 7.

Last alive on his team, Sweet takes out 3 players in quick succession in the fissure near Harvester. This huge clutch under pressure secured both kill points, but also secured a top 3 finish in game 7, securing valuable points.

Sweetdreams was not just on form when working solo. Viewers were treated to vintage Sweetdreams shot-calling in game 4. Taking full use of the home turf advantage in Staging (NRG land Staging), NRG perfectly executed a game win securing a huge 16 kills in the process. This was the single most kills by any team across all 12 games.

The final nail in the coffin for SSG and C9 was a decisive bubble play by NRG. They swung into the main Staging platform and swiftly dispatched both remaining teams to secure a victory.

These impressive victories come in the build-up to the return of the ALGS pro league. NRG currently sits 3rd overall, on 22 points. They have an impressive 9 point cushion over 11th place and could all but secure LAN with a top 3 finish in Pro League week 4.

Both Nafen and Sweetdreams have LAN experience, and NRG will surely be considered one of the favorites should they qualify, which seems a likely outcome at this stage.

One team that does not seem likely to reach LAN is 100 Thieves. The reigning North American Apex champions finished rock bottom of the SteelSeries Prime Cup, securing only 25 points, over 100 less than winners NRG. 100T had promised to make drastic changes to their game plan following a slow start to Pro League. However, it appears they have plenty of work to do before the weekend if they are to change their fortunes.

All eyes will now return to the ALGS pro league, which is back in action this weekend.

As we enter the second half of the pro league season, extra attention will be paid to how new legend Ash, the CAR SMG and the changes to Wattson will impact the meta. With time ticking until the end of Pro League split 1, teams are running out of opportunities to bounce back from a poor start, or pressure is rising to maintain their LAN qualification spot. Will 100T bounce back as promised? Can NRG keep their blistering form?

Stay tuned to esports.gg for the latest Apex Legends news and updates.