In a stacked tournament full of favorites from dominant regions like North America and APAC South, REJECT WINNITY became the first APAC North team to ever win an Apex Legends Global Series LAN, and the first team to do it not named TSM, DarkZero, or Reignite.
The South Korean trio of Obly, KaronPe, and SangJoon wrote their names into Apex lore with their consistency and refusal to abandon the team composition that led them to the grand final. They were the only team in the finals lobby to run a Wattson, the traditionally defensive character long out of player favor and the pro meta, but they didn’t let that “defensive” pick slow them down and matched FNATIC for the most kills in the last lobby.
In an incredibly even set of matches, it looked like multiple LAN champs DarkZero would snatch away a LAN trophy again, but in the ultimate game, a tough rotation for DarkZero led to a series of third parties which ultimately resulted in REJECT taking up residence with all the space in the very last zone.
From that position, the now-victorious squad refused to let the win slip through their grasp, taking out fan-favorites Disguised and Cloud9 to seal the win.
“We had a very slow start [in the final game], and we were just going slowly, approaching the ring, and we spotted some teams fighting,” Obly told Dot Esports through a translator in a team interview after the finals. The Climatizer zone is where DarkZero fell, and Obly said REJECT immediately noticed the team’s name announced in the killfeed as being eliminated. “That’s the moment we realized, ‘oh, we can win this.'”
Obly also explained the team’s confidence in Wattson as a character, noting her ability to defend areas made it more difficult for more aggressive teams running Bloodhound to push into them, helping them set up their own plays. He also said the game’s general nerf of SMGs in recent seasons helped Wattson—a nerf that also affected the swarm of controller players that have taken over the game’s competitive scene over the past two years. REJECT is the first all-mouse-and-keyboard team to win an ALGS LAN since the TSM lineup of ImperialHal, Reps, and Albralelie won the Preseason Invitational in 2019.
“I must admit, I think controller players have the edge,” Obly told Dot Esports. “But Apex Legends, it’s a team game. An individual player could have higher firepower, but if the synergies are bad, it can go wrong [for that team]. So we feel that even as mouse and keyboard players, if the team synergy is strong, we have a decent chance to win as well.”
It was a good LAN for MnK players in general, with REJECT taking the crown and all-MnK team Aurora also managing seventh place in the final standings. And with APAC North’s first-ever ALGS crown, who’s to say the region can’t take home another one?
“APAC teams have a chance, but I do feel like a lot of our players lack confidence,” Obly explained to Dot. REJECT’s win should be more proof than ever to the region’s players that they can not only survive at the highest level of Apex—they can thrive. They can win. They can write their names in the history books.
After all, REJECT’s names are already there. A triple MnK team running Wattson in a lobby full of controller demons, twitchy Bangalores, and bloodthirsty Bloodhounds. Why not another APAC North ALGS title?
