The biggest moments from the ALGS Year 5 Championship in Sapporo

After four days of action and multiple surprises, Apex Legends has a new trio of world champions, representing orgless team Oblivion. 

In front of a sold-out crowd of 14,000 at the Daiwa House Premier Dome in Sapporo, Japan, Oblivion took the title after nine gruelling games in the Match Point Final. 

Alongside this historic feat, there were also plenty of major moments that occurred throughout the event. Now that the dust has settled, Esports Insider looks back at one of Apex Legends’ biggest esports events yet.

Before delving into the competition itself, it is important to highlight that this year’s ALGS Championship was the largest ever, both in terms of attendance and fan engagement. 

The Daiwa House Premier Dome is a large baseball stadium, half of which was occupied by EA’s 55-meter stage. On the other side of the two-story arena, a fan zone is set up, which this year had almost doubled in size from last year’s event in the same venue.

More brand partners, more space to promote the host city, more booths offering traditional food, and even more places for teams to sell merchandise. Every day, when doors opened, lines formed within minutes at the booths of Fnatic, Alliance, Riddle, Crazy Raccoons (in partnership with 100 Thieves), and ENTER FORCE.36 to grab apparel, pins, and team merchandise.

In addition to daily giveaways of themed stationery, fans could explore the fan zone to collect stamps and make an origami Nessie (the game’s mascot) in exchange for exclusive pins.

A play area for trying out Apex League and a wishing tree completed the area, which, between rounds of matches, filled to the brim, demonstrating the high level of engagement the ALGS generates in Japan.

Whilst some tournament favourites looked dominant throughout the event, the one team that will walk away disappointed will be Team Liquid. Rhys ‘Zer0’ Perry and his teammates entered the event with great confidence after the latter’s split with Team Falcons in August. However, the team’s main problem was that the roster, which had been together for less than three months, didn’t have time to develop true synergy.

As a result, in the most tense moments, the team often collapsed under the pressure. This meant that the team ended its ALGS Championship campaign at the first hurdle, being eliminated in Lower Bracket Round 1.

One of the Group Stage’s surprises, Citadel Gaming, also disappointed. The American organisation with an all-English roster excelled in the group stage, topping many leaderboards. However, in the Bracket Stage, the team finished 12th in the Loser Bracket Finals. 

FaZe Clan, ROC Esports, and 2025 Mid-Season Playoff champion VK Gaming also failed to perform when it mattered most, unsuccessfully securing a spot in the finals.

Along with the usual suspects — Team Falcons, Alliance, and Shopify Rebellion — the Match Point Finals featured some unexpected teams and map winners.

S8UL Esports won game two, while Crazy Thieves took home a game four victory. Moreover, the latter also recorded the highest average score on Olympus. Canada’s Oblivion lit up the Premist Dome when the roster won the third game, putting on a show that concluded with a shocking final map.

In terms of interesting statistics from the entire tournament, Ninjas in Pyjamas managed to finish in the top 10 in 53% of its matches. 

Meanwhile, Alliance holds the record for the most points accumulated in a single match (31). GoNext Esports were crowned the World’s Edge kings by average score, and Gen.G can boast the same title on Storm Point. Supernova, on the other hand, had the highest number of second-place finishes at the event.

Many of the pros interviewed at the Championship predicted with near-perfect accuracy which Legends would be banned in the finals. 

Newcastle was the first due to his ultimate ability, which can create advantageous positions almost out of nowhere. Caustic came next, thanks to his ability to control the battlefield, closely followed by Alter, whose teleport was at the centre of several key plays in the first four games.

Game five saw Rampart’s ban and a flourish of interesting compositions. Spectators started to see compositions featuring Wattson, Mad Maggie, Catalyst, Bangalore, and even Sparrow, along with the ever-present Crypto and a few Wraiths. 

Ash and Pathfinder made appearances but didn’t have a huge impact. Wattson was banned for game six, thus ensuring Caustic’s return for game seven, given that an entire class of Legends (controllers, in this case) cannot be banned at the same time.

Whilst a lot has been said about the Match Point Finals already, the final day was an event to behold.

The ALGS 2026  Championship final kicked off with a performance by Japanese rapper OZworld, who performed the ALGS Year 5 anthem, ‘STIM UP’, to the stage, alongside choreography from dancers and flags covered in LED lights. 

The trophy was presented by none other than Hatsune Miku, the popular virtual pop star who receives her new winter outfit every year in Hokkaido, a collaboration that has been livening up the city of Sapporo for several years. 

The city’s mayor also made an appearance, reaffirming the close partnership between EA and the city’s officials. Then, the action kicked off.

As was the case at the 2023 final, by the end of the second match, it seemed like Apex Legends’ champion was already written. 

Team Falcons reached 42 points in two matches, well ahead of the competition, but were quickly defeated in the third and fourth games. S8UL Esports seemed unstoppable in the second and third games, but slowed significantly in the following matches.

In the fifth game, Team Falcons managed to break the 50-point threshold, but the victory went to the Ninjas in Pyjamas, with the latter now close to match point. In the sixth game, Team Falcons were defeated almost immediately, reopening the race for match point. By the end of game six, Oblivion, GROW Gaming, ENTER FORCE.36 (a favourite with the home crowd), S8UL Esports, and Ninjas in Pyjamas all reached the match point threshold.

The seventh game began with six teams in sight of the title. The first fight brought Crazy Thieves into the equation alongside TSM. The map had everyone on the edge of their seats as Fnatic managed to defeat Team Falcons to deny the championship. 

Game eight of the 2026 ALGS Championship finals saw the unexpected triumph of Virtus Pro, which reached the final round after a thrilling battle against potential winners ENTER FORCE.36 and Alliance.

Finally, game nine saw many teams with victory within their reach fall one after another. First Crazy Thieves, then Grow Gaming, and then the rest of the top 10. 

Only Hot Dog Mafia, Alliance, Supernova, and Oblivion made it to the final circle. After an incredible journey that began at the Americas’ Last Chance Qualifier, Oblivion emerged victorious, taking home $600,000 (~£448,000) as a result.

Miguel ‘Blinkzr’ Quiles, Bowen ‘Monsoon’ Fuller, Brandon ‘FunFPS’ Groombridge, and Coach RubyKaster became the new Apex Legends World Champions. 

The team has been orgless since the start of the tournament, meaning the roster has less support, fewer resources, and less help than much of the competition. Nevertheless, Oblivion triumphed in one of the biggest upsets in Apex Legends esports. 

Now that the most important event of the year has concluded, all eyes are on the Online Open, the first event of the sixth competitive year, whose full schedule was revealed during the Sapporo final.