In a shocking twist, team 40%Worse, made up of Mande, Shiv, and xeriffer, have qualified for the Apex Legends Global Series Pro League 24 hours after the EMEA Preseason Qualifiers concluded. Team THREE DRAGONS had its qualification revoked after player Sunzyyy was banned for violating EA’s Terms of Service.
The EMEA region’s final preseason tournament was thrown into disarray after not one, but two teams had their hopes of qualification seemingly dashed by last minute EA bans. Team Redragon had two players banned for IP-related offences, immediately removing the entire team from contention. Then, mere hours before Monday’s final, THREE DRAGONS player Sunzyyy was also banned with seemingly little warning.
Despite Sunzyyy’s ban, his teammates competed in the final as a duo. In an exceptional display of resilience, the duo were formidable in the lobby, and seemingly picked up enough points to remain in a qualifying slot for Pro League. However, this was with their points distributed across all three players on Battlefy, despite them only being able to play with two. This left them in the lurch, not knowing how EA would respond to the dilemma.
24 hours later, on Dec. 19, the team received the crushing news that they were, in fact, not able to qualify in these circumstances.
The ALGS community has been quick to offer condolences to Ony and JuyZi of THREE DRAGONS, with B-stream caster and prominent community figure NiceWigg commenting, “You 100 percent deserve to be in pro league.” Unlike their teammate Sunzyyy, the duo do not have any bans from EA. Clearly, their teammate’s actions, which reportedly stem from account sharing and potential cheating from another player, have had a huge impact on their career prospects.
However, every cloud has a silver lining. This is particularly true for Mande, Shiv, and xeriffer, who concluded the final preseason weekend believing they had missed out on an invite to Pro League by a single placement. Now that THREE DRAGONS have had their points adjusted, their team, 40%Worse, has officially qualified.
Both Mande and Shiv have a long history in competitive Apex Legends, having competed since 2019. After competing as a substitute for Alliance in the ALGS Split One Playoffs in February 2023, Mande has been toying with an official return to professional play. His stellar performance in the tournament, which assisted Alliance in reaching fourth place, convinced many that he was ready for a return for the ages.
If any doubters remained after the Split One Playoffs, they are surely quiet now. Even if team 40%Worse qualified for Pro League on a technicality, their consistent performance throughout the Year Four preseason was a sight to behold.
The ALGS Pro League returns Jan. 20, with all teams now confirmed in each region. After perhaps the most chaotic preseason Apex Legends has ever seen, it is set to be an absolute treat.
