The EXP Apex Legends Invitational is finally over and standing tall above everyone else is Team SoloMid. Composed of Phillip "ImperialHal" Dosen, Mac "Albralelie" Kenzie Beckwith, and Jordan "Reps" Wolfe, TSM beat out 19 other team to claim the championship and the $30,000 prize.
During the FACEIT Pro Series: Apex Legends, TSM finished in third and was considered one of the favorites along with T1.
For the Invitational, the point system implemented was:
- Eliminations provide 1 Point.
- Placement points are distributed as the following per round:
- 1st place - 12 Points.
- 2nd place - 9 Points.
- 3rd place - 7 Points.
- 4th place - 5 Points.
- 5th place - 4 Points.
- 6th - 10th place - 2 Points.
- 11th - 15th place - 1 Points.
- 16th - 20th place - 0 Points.
At the end of the first day of the tournament, TSM managed to get a total of 30 kills, one first place finish, one third place finish, three fifth place finishes, and a twelfth-place finish. This gave them a total of 62 points and a small lead against Tempo Storm with 58 points, and Reciprocity with 55 points.
In addition, the meta during the first day was rather consistent with teams choosing to have Wattson, Pathfinder, and Wraith.
By the second day, it was a see-saw match with the different teams. However by the time Match 11 was done, TSM was tied at the top with Reciprocity. In addition, Sentinels was only four points behind. While Fnatic took first place in the last round, TSM managed to get second while Reciprocity only managed a 9th place finish. Sentinels dropped all the way to 15th place. This ensured TSM's championship with Reciprocity in second and Sentinels third. Fnatic ended in fourth place.
In an interview with ESPN, ImperialHal Said that they knew it was going to boil down to the last game. He added that when they saw Reciprocity fighting with Sentinels, they knew it was a good sign in their favor.
The Invitational marked a return of esports to the X Games. However, it also served as the first major competition for Apex Legends. The success of this tournament, along with future ones, could serve as a way for the game to entice new players.
