One of the best parts of something like Apex Legends Global Series is to cheer for the underdogs and see who is making different decisions from everyone else. For example, TSM and DarkZero may have been the overall favorites for some going in, but Reject Winnity left with the trophy. On the other end, many Apex Legends pro teams were playing the meta of Bangalore, Bloodhound, and Caustic, but there were others spread through. Conduit and Wattson proved pretty popular, but some teams still took different legends like Crypto, Lifeline, Gibraltar, Newcastle, and others.
One team that consistently played their own game instead of the meta was 2 Rats 1 Controller (or 2R1C). While they did dip into the dominant Apex Legends meta in a few matches, they more consistently ran a team of Bangalore, Lifeline, and Crypto. It worked in their favor quite a few times, with 2R1C winning at least one match during the build-up to Match Point. The team also qualified in the top 20 for the Match Point finals and received a respectable pool of $10,000 in winnings for its placement. At ALGS, Game Rant sat down with coach Jansen “tur0gh-” Siqueira, Jose “Uxako” Llosa, and Niki “Mysi” Piira to discuss ALGS, the meta, their team comp, and more. Filipe “Hiarka” Morgado, the other member of the team, was not available for interview. The following transcript has been edited for clarity and brevity.
All Images Credit – EA | Joe Brady @joebradyphoto
Q: To start off, could you introduce yourselves to our audience?
T: I’m tur0gh-. I’m from Brazil. I’m 35 months old, and I’ve been working with the boys for seven months now.
U: I’m Uxako. My name is Jose and I am from Spain. I usually just frag for the team.
M: I’m Mysi. I’m 19 and I’m from Finland. I’m the flex player for the team.
(From Left to Right: Mysi, Hiarka, tur0gh-, Uxako)
Q: Could you give me your thoughts on the current Bloodhound, Bangalore, and Caustic meta?
U: I think it’s a good meta for most players, but I don’t enjoy it. You cannot see anything. It’s just Bloodhound against Bloodhound, and it’s not enjoyable at all.
Q: What about the weapon meta? What are your thoughts on the state of guns in the game?
M: I think the weapon meta is fine, but I would like to see more variety, like more shotguns and even stuff like the R-301 that we haven’t seen in a while. It’s like a lot of burst now, so it’s not that interesting to watch, probably as well.
Q: Could you talk a little about your picks in Legends and your strategy going into ALGS?
T: When we were playing the EMEA Pro League, we were playing with a good macro. We knew how to rotate for all the sides of the map, and then at the same time, the boys were doing very good fighting on EMEA. We got top three one day in Pro League, and we got top two, tied for first with Aurora at 70 points. Our plan worked there.
After Pro League, we had a conversation like, “Guys, now it’s LAN. LAN is another level, a different quality, and it’s different. Maybe our plan doesn’t work right.” Everyone agreed, but then Respawn revealed that the map would have strange pullbacks, which is maybe a nerf for teams playing zone. Everyone thinks the zone is there, and then it pulls back to the other side. It’s a good buff for teams coming from the edge. We decided to change our comp after this update, and not only that, but we have some role issues with the meta.
When Mysi joined the team, he was playing Caustic because of this, and we were having some issues because he’s not comfortable with that character. With Caustic, we wouldn’t get the most out of Mysi, you know? Hiarka is one of the best Cryptos I saw playing. Uxako is one of the best mouse and keyboard players, as well as Fraggers. Mysi is an awesome flex. When we play our comp, we play very well and know how to play and how to get the most out of the EMP in a fight. It was working a lot.
Yesterday, we didn’t play our best, but that has nothing to do with the comp. The guys agree with me. We could have played any comp in the world, and we would have had the same result yesterday.
This interview took place on Day 2 of ALGS
Q: What do you like the most about the Legends you play?
U: I normally play Bangalore and Wraith, but I’ve played Bloodhound as well. I mainly like Bangalore because you have a lot of movement and can make plays way better. You can play more greedy, so you can take the other team’s advantage. Wraith is in kind of the same place, with just more angles with her portal.
T: One thing that works a lot with Uxako, he plays Bangalore as he said, is when he has Mozambiques with the Hammerpoints. At the same time, we have the EMP, so if you EMP the enemy team, you can crack their shields quickly. With the Hammerpoints, it only takes a few pumps then to knock you know? It’s very strong. He’s a very good fragger, so he gets a solid advantage doing this with the EMP.
M: I usually play Lifeline now, and it fits my role because I’m the second guy going into fights after Uxako. Hiarka is in the back, and if someone makes a mistake, I can easily recover. We can keep the fight up with a gold rez with Lifeline now.
Q: The composition you’ve been running is a bit off-meta. What, in your opinion, is the value of playing this way as a team?
U: It has its weaknesses, but there are some good things as well. We can rotate outside and grab player banners if needed, while Bloodhound teams, for example, couldn’t make it. If it’s outside zone, it takes too much time for them. We can know what’s free and get info about spots we want to take. As tur0gh- said, the Mozamb Digi, Crypto drone, and Lifeline reset can really seal the advantage.
Q: What do you think the value is in taking Crypto over Bloodhound?
U: Hiarka is known to be a Crypto player, and it fits him better. With beacons and our rotations, I think he fits our playstyle better. We have also talked about which is better, Crypto or Bloodhound, and we came to the conclusion that Crypto is better for us, but both characters are very good stuff.
Q: What are the general pros and cons in terms of not playing the meta?
U: The most obvious one is that, if you get smoked and you don’t have a Digi-Mozamb or Bloodhound, you get beat down. At the same time, we get the EMP. We have the Crypto drone that can scout through the smokes. I think the strongest thing is when we talk about the Beacons. If you have a team holding you and you hit the beacon there, they will be watching 200 meters. With Crypto, you can hit it and you are already on them. They have no time to react to it.
T: Yeah, we have a few strategies with the EMP for different fight styles, depending on how the fight goes. If it’s a surprise fight and we are close to each other, we don’t have time to do much because then it’s like Uxako said, they will smoke and we cannot see anything if he doesn’t have the Digi. But if we are holding a spot, for example, where they must come, we can leave the drone close to us. They are obligated to come, we pop the EMP, and we kill them in the open field. We usually hide the drone in some spot when we know they are coming too. They don’t know about us, and we dive with the EMP and kill them in an open field as well. So we have strategies for some fight styles and some plays that we do that work a lot, but our biggest issue is, as Uxako said, the smoke if he doesn’t have Digis. It’s very hard to react then.
M: I also think that the issue sometimes might be that we cannot punish teams if they are playing small areas. When they’re running Caustic, it can be harder hitting some houses or playing some zones. We have to play more open fields to get more out of our comp.
T: Yeah, perfect. We usually look for fights in open areas. It’s like Mysi said. If they have Caustic and we EMP, they will trigger the gas and we cannot go inside. We have to choose the best fights for us as well.
The Journey to ALGS
Q: Can you talk a little bit about your journey to the ALGS Playoffs?
U: We’ve played for a while. We played already for three years or so, we’ve played ALGS, we’ve reached finals, and we’ve done LANs since they came back from COVID stuff. We’ve done most of them, maybe some with a different roster. We keep a consistent duo, and in this case, Mysi is the new third.
T: I was a professional player before. I even made LAN as well, but it didn’t happen because of COVID, unfortunately. After that, I had to retire because I was above 30 years old, and I had no reflexes to fight a controller player. So, I became a coach. I was signed by Team Singularity in South America and was the best team we had there. We made LAN as a team as well and got top 11. Because of those results, Hiarka DM’d me in October last year, so I’ve been with the boys for around seven months.
M: Basically what happened with me is that I was looking for a team, they asked me to play, and I joined them. The rest is history.
Q: What brought each of you to Apex?
T: To be honest, I was working a normal job. I didn’t have the opportunity to try to work with esports when I was younger, and then I decided to quit this normal job and start working with esports. I would stream Counter Strike, but a friend of mine said, “tur0gh-, there is a game that will release tomorrow. You should take a shot.” I tried it and it was like first love. I played it, I loved it, and here I am. That’s it.
U: I came from CS:GO as well, games like PUBG. Both games are really slow where Apex is so fast. There’s so much adrenaline. It was just the feel I was looking for, let’s say it like that.
M: Before Apex, I used to play a lot of Overwatch and a bit of Fortnite as well. I feel like Apex is a good mix of both because of the hero abilities and battle royale format. When I started playing the game on the console, I was pretty good. I decided to switch to PC and I’ve always wanted to compete, then it just happened.
T: Just to add something, I think what’s beautiful about Apex Legends is the diversity. You have a lot of different character abilities so you need to think a lot. I like games like this. That is not a simple task, you know, when you think about all of the possibilities in a match. Apex is a game of possibility. You need to think about what the enemy team can do against you, depending on the comp they are playing, and I like it when you need to think a lot to make it work. That’s what’s beautiful about Apex.
Q: What do you hope to see out of the Apex Legends meta as it goes forward?
U: I hope to see changes with this Roller meta with SMGs and close-range fights, the time-to-kill as well. It’s way too fast, reminds me of COD. I want more Gibbies and bubbles too, more shotguns, just more fun.
T: I would love to have Gibby back as well. Crypto, I hope he continues upward because of our team, and that’s it. I think more Gibbies and Cryptos, yeah.
M: For me, I would love to see more diversity – not just Bloodhound, Bangalore, and Caustic. If you could make almost every character work, that would be it.
Q: What would you say to any aspiring Apex Legends pro players who are watching ALGS?
T: I can give myself as an example. If you love the game and want to work with it, I’m 35 now and I’m here. It’s possible. If you think you are capable of doing it, go ahead. Do it.
[END]
Apex Legends
Apex Legends is a free-to-play battle royale game made by Respawn. In this shooter, players take up the mantle of a Legend — one of the playable characters — and form a squad with other players. The game is set in the same universe as the Titanfall series and the two franchises have had many crossovers.
- Released
- February 4, 2019
- Publisher(s)
- Electronic Arts
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer
- Engine
- Source on console/PC, Unreal Engine 4 on mobile
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Blood, Violence
