NRG defend Oversight Playoff title

NRG successfully defended their Oversight Playoff title. Nathan "Nate" Nguyen, Chris "Sweetdreams" Sexton and Zachary "Gild" Dennis have dominated non ALGS tournaments consistently since Gild arrived from Team Liquid.

The Oversight Split 2 Playoffs took place across two days, featuring a huge twelve games. 20 teams, qualified through six weeks of qualifiers, battled for a share of the sizeable $20,000 prize pool.

Crucially, this was the last major event in North America before teams headed to London for the ALGS Split 1 Playoffs.

NRG comfortably defended their Oversight Playoff title, dropping a ginormous 129 points across the 12 games. They performed extremely strongly across both days, delivering strong placements as well as high kill totals. They averaged 5.75 kills across the 12 games.

What is key to NRG's playstyle is being able to make something out of any situation. They were able to rack up impressive kill totals in zones that were hard to rotate into. NRG were also able to find high kill totals in zones that came close to them. They racked up a super impressive 12 kills in Downed Beast from Checkpoint. Playing a pseudo-zone style with an aggressive composition, and having the discipline to utilise their abilities while not overheating and getting thirded by neighbouring teams.

NRG were great value for their win. FURIA and TSM ran NRG close. The tournament was one of the most top heavy events for some time, yet was still a close ran contest between multiple squads.

In the final game, NRG truly earned the victory with an outstanding end game. They found themselves in a tricky situation, with no cover and no easy move.

Sweet getting knocked was almost a net benefit to NRG. From the floor he was able to provide cover for his team and focus purely on guiding Nafen and Gild around a very tricky zone. Under his guidance they managed to sneak out a win, ending the event on the best possible terms.

If NRG, and Sweet in particular, can perform to this standard in London they will be in with a huge chance of taking home the ALGS Playoffs.

NRG have chosen not to bootcamp or play International Scrims. This meant that the Oversight Playoffs are a key aspect of their preparation and they will be delighted with their showing and head to England full of confidence.

TSM also had a strong tournament, and will be among the favourites for LAN in London. Unlike NRG, TSM are playing International Scrims religiously and have been in fine form. This performance was a continuation of TSM's strong showing across the entire ALGS Pro League.

However, TSM seemed to be out of the mix after Day One. Despite being in third, they were a huge 30 points behind NRG.

This did not phase ImperialHal and co. TSM took a crucial victory in game seven. This earned them 25 points, cutting the gap down with NRG to just seven.

Crucially, this victory came from a favourable zone in Lava Siphon. TSM have developed a really strong and flexible gameplan that can be applied to both zone games and edge games. Being flexible is crucial in Apex Legends. This is especially important on the global stage, as you face teams from other regions. Furthermore, the pressure of the size of LAN events can result in teams playing differently, rotating faster and prioritising zone. This can render preparation and research on your opponents almost useless. Being able to react and adapt is one of TSM's greatest strengths and is a key reason why they are favoured to bring home the title in London.

The Oversight Playoffs seemed to provide a sneak peak into the upcoming roster mania that might ensue following the LAN Playoffs.

Complexity had qualified for the Playoffs in their own right, but withdrew. Fans were confused to see Monsoon, iShiny and Luxford all appear on different rosters. Luxford played with OLN, Monsoon with SSG and iShiny joined up with Elev8. E8 just happen to be coached by Muffins, iShiny's brother.

Could this be a hint that Complexity are set to exit the Apex scene and the team is set to split. It would seem a strange decision to not compete as a team in a major event and instead spread out across multiple other teams unless it was to explore options for the future.

UPDATE: Following the Oversight Playoffs Luxford of Complexity has announced he is seeking a new team.

Elsewhere, Dropped appeared with OpTic. SSG have been scrimming without Dropped in International Scrims. However, he has confirmed he will be appearing with SSG at LAN.

Snip3down appeared alongside Esports Arena, who are looking for a replacement for Caprah. There are rumours circulating on Twitter that Snip3down will join ESA, and they will be picked up by FaZe Clan.

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