Fending off powerhouse rosters such as Team Falcons and 100 Thieves, ROC Esports proved their worth to win the ALGS Americas Regional Final.
As the last ALGS Regional Final to take place, the Americas’ Match Point Final also finalised the 40 teams that have qualified for the Midseason Playoffs, set to be held at the Esports World Cup.
Recapping ROC Esports’ journey to the top
After the ALGS EMEA Regional Final forced teams to fight through 11 games, the American region interpreted their rival region’s marathon as a challenge.
Until Game 8, only three teams had reached the Match Point threshold of 50 points. A Match Point Final can only be won when a team has acquired 50 points and then wins a following game outright.
Despite Ninjas in Pyjamas, 100 Thieves, and Team Orchid dominating the early stages of the Final, it was ROC Esports who eventually secured the win.
Game 8 served as a significant turning point, launching six additional teams into Match Point eligibility and intensifying the pressure for the remaining players.
Despite almost half of the lobby having the opportunity to win the Regional Final in Game 9, it took a total of 10 games to conclude the competition. ROC Esports eventually fought back against All Gamers and Team Falcons in the final zone to win overall.
Regional Final game-by-game breakdown – ROC vs Ninjas, Orchid, and 100 Thieves
Game 1 – Storm Point
| Top 3 Teams By Placement Points | Top Three Teams By Overall Points |
| All Gamers | All Gamers (27 – 15kp/12pp) |
| Virtus Pro | Virtus Pro (12 – 3kp/9pp) |
| CTE | Team Liquid Alienware (11 – 9kp/2pp) |
The first game in The Americas’ Regional Final was succinctly summarised by Streamer Jack ‘NiceWigg’ Martin as “messy.”
Overall Regional Split One winners, Team Falcons, were the first to be eliminated. Other high-performing teams, including 100 Thieves, also struggled. It was eventually All Gamers who took the opening win.
Game 2 – Broken Moon – Alter Banned
| Top 3 Teams By Placement Points | Top Three Teams By Overall Points |
| TSM | TSM (26 – 14kp/12pp) |
| Ninjas in Pyjamas | Ninjas in Pyjamas (14 – 5kp/9pp) |
| Team Orchid | Team Orchid (11 – 4kp/7pp) |
Despite their strong start in Game 1, All Gamers faltered in the immediate aftermath. In a disappointing turn of events, they crashed out in 16th place with no points.
Instead, Game 2 saw Ninjas in Pyjamas and Team Orchid begin to rise through the ranks, with the two teams achieving second and third place, respectively.
Aggressive playstyles shown by teams such as Team Liquid Alienware also seemed to be faltering, with TLAW exiting Game 2 in 20th place. The team were punished for chasing kill points with a swift third party.
Game 3 – E District – Ash Banned
| Top 3 Teams By Placement Points | Top Three Teams By Overall Points |
| Ninjas in Pyjamas | Ninjas in Pyjamas (28 – 16kp/12pp) |
| Team Falcons | Team Falcons (16 – 7kp/9pp) |
| TSM | NRG (10 – 5kp/5pp) |
In Game 3, Ninjas in Pyjamas continued to accumulate kills and high placements. Their win put them only two points away from the Match Point threshold.
Additionally, teams continued to debate their aggressive play styles. Although Ninjas in Pyjamas were able to capitalise on high kill points, 100 Thieves could be heard lamenting after being eliminated in 16th place, questioning, “Why are we fighting everything?”
Game 4 – E District – Newcastle Banned
| Top 3 Teams By Placement Points | Top Three Teams By Overall Points |
| Furia | Furia (21 – 9kp/12pp) |
| Team Orchid | Team Orchid (15 – 6kp/9pp) |
| 100 Thieves | 100 Thieves (15 – 8kp/7pp) |
Being a mere two points from the Match Point threshold, Ninjas in Pyjamas had a short to-do list in Game 4. They only needed two kills to ensure their position at the top of the leaderboard, which they achieved with ease.
Before a single team had been eliminated, Ninjas had achieved their goal.
Game 4 also saw Team Orchid continue their pattern of quickly accumulating points, although it would not be until Game 5 that they hit Match Point eligibility.
Game 5 – Broken Moon – Ballistic Banned
| Top 3 Teams By Placement Points | Top Three Teams By Overall Points |
| Team Orchid | Team Orchid (20 – 8kp/12pp) |
| 100 Thieves | 100 Thieves (18 – 9kp/9pp) |
| Moviestar Koi | Moviestar Koi (15 – 8kp/7pp) |
In Game 5, it became clear that despite winning Game 1, All Gamers were struggling with consistency. They were only able to pick up a single point between the end of Game 5 and the beginning of Game 2.
On the contrary, Team Orchid had begun rapidly accumulating points. Their Game 5 win placed them on Match Point with Ninjas in Pyjamas. They were able to take the victory after Ninjas failed to take advantage of their zone position – a mistake that sent them packing in fourth place.
Game 6 – Storm Point – Wraith Banned
| Top 3 Teams By Placement Points | Top Three Teams By Overall Points |
| NRG | NRG (20 – 8kp/12pp) |
| 100 Thieves | 100 Thieves (17 – 8kp/9pp) |
| Furia | Furia (13 – 6kp/7pp) |
After Game 6, two became three – 100 Theives became the next team to reach Match Point with a second-place finish.
Game 6 also bore witness to a more amusing mishap from the Regional Final. Phillip ‘ImperialHal’ Dosen gave 100 damage to himself via his own explosives mid-fight, ultimately contributing to Team Falcons’ untimely elimination.
His IGL, Rhys ‘Zer0’ Perry, was less than impressed with the incident, immediately asking, “What the f*** have we just done, man?”
Game 7 – Storm Point – Sparrow Banned
| Top 3 Teams By Placement Points | Top Three Teams By Overall Points |
| Team Falcons | Team Falcons (17 – 5kp/12pp) |
| Virtus Pro | Virtus Pro (16 – 7kp/9pp) |
| Team Liquid Alienware | Team Liquid Alienware (12 – 5kp/7pp) |
Thankfully, Zer0’s questioning of his team between Games 6 and 7 appeared to have a desirable effect. Falcons clawed back from a close call in third place to take the win. The team held the map and zone pull’s “godspot” for most of the game.
Game 8 – Broken Moon – Crypto Banned
| Top 3 Teams By Placement Points | Top Three Teams By Overall Points |
| Furia | Furia (22 – 10kp/12pp) |
| Shopify Rebellion | Shopify Rebellion (15 – 6kp/9pp) |
| NRG | Virtus Pro (14 – 12kp/2pp) |
Game 8 saw the number of teams on Match Point jump from three to nine.
Furia, Team Falcons, All Gamers, Virtus Pro, TSM, and ROC all passed the 50-point threshold to join Ninjas in Pyjamas, Team Orchid, and 100 Thieves.
After struggling in earlier games, Furia managed to land well-placed Kraber shots to take the win. Overcoming their initial inconsistent points acquisition, they placed well throughout the remaining Regional Final matches.
Game 9 – E District – Bangalore Banned
| Top 3 Teams By Placement Points | Top Three Teams By Overall Points |
| Luminosity Gaming | Luminosity Gaming (21 – 9kp/12pp) |
| Fusion | Fusion (17 – 8kp/9pp) |
| Team Liquid Alienware | Team Liquid Alienware (13 – 6kp/7pp) |
After a shockingly bad performance over the first eight games, Luminosity Gaming surged forward in Game 9 to win over the nine match point eligible teams. Between Games 1 and 7, Luminosity averaged at two points per match.
A strong performance from Team Liquid Alienware was also enough to push the team over the Match Point threshold. Up to Game 9, their mixed results from consistently aggressive gameplay had placed them at a disadvantage.
Game 10 – E District – Pathfinder Banned
| Top 3 Teams By Placement Points | Top Three Teams By Overall Points |
| ROC Esports | ROC Esports (27 – 15kp/12pp) |
| All Gamers | Furia (14 – 9kp/5pp) |
| Team Falcons | All Gamers (12 – 3kp/9pp) |
ROC Esports’ win was far from expected. The team had quietly accumulated their points outside of the top three placements, biding their time until the right opportunity arose.
That opportunity lay within Game 10. Heavy-hitting Match Point-eligible teams clashed as the last ten teams were standing. ROC was able to leverage the chaos to their advantage, picking up an impressive 15 kills in their winning game.
To the relief of fans who had been watching the long 11-game EMEA Regional Final directly before The Americas, ROC ended the Finals at Game 10. A total of 21 games were played across the two regions in an astonishing level of competitive determination.
Who joins ROC Esports from the Americas in the Esports World Cup Midseason Playoffs?
The top 16 teams from The Americas ALGS region qualify for the Midseason Playoffs, set to be held at the Esports World Cup. Team Falcons, 100 Thieves, and Shopify Rebellion had already confirmed their invites through their performances at the ALGS Open.
Each Regional Finals determines the final standings in the overall regional Split One leaderboard, from which the top 16 teams are selected.
Therefore, the complete list of teams qualified from The Americas is as follows:
- Team Falcons
- 100 Thieves
- Shopify Rebellion
- Ninjas in Pyjamas
- All Gamers
- NRG
- ROC Esports
- TSM
- Furia
- Team Liquid Alienware
- Twisted Minds
- Moviestar Koi
- Fusion
- Virtus Pro
- Sentinals
- Team Orchid
The ALGS Midseason Playoffs and Apex Legends Esports World Cup will take place from July 10th to 13th. A $2,000,000 USD (~£1,470,000 GBP) prize pool is on offer, and the newly qualified teams will return with unwavering determination to earn their slice.
Hannah is a writer specialising in the esports, gaming, and technology sectors. Working for outlets such as Dot Esports, Esports Insider, and of course ENUK, she has developed a love for wider esports and Apex Legends, although it may never surpass her drive to passionately beat her friends in every game of Mariokart. You may have seen her at various esports and gaming events, including ESI London, EGX, Discover: Esports and many League of Legends watch parties.
