Controversy Surrounding Apex Legends’ New POI Draft System
The POI battle between o7 and Elev8 Gaming resulted in one of the most exciting Apex Legends LAN contests of all time, but those contests may soon be history. ALGS may have changed forever with the recent implementation of a POI draft system—and many pros are dissatisfied.
Pros Split on Snake Draft System
On May 15, after completing their first set of competitive scrim matches using the new snake draft system, pros shared their thoughts on X (formerly Twitter). The outcome was rather divisive, with top pros ImperialHal and Zach Mazer strongly opposing the new system. Called a “rushed process” by Zach(IGL of E8), he noted the sheer number of complaints in the ALGS Discord Server, where he’d “seen 10x more hate then praise in the feedback channels.”
The effect of the draft system on team strategies
The draft system will place all 20 teams in a random order, allowing each to choose where they want to land, leaving 16th to 20th place for the POI scraps. Every POI is unique, with some performing far better than others. Those at the bottom of the draft will inevitably have to fight from a lower POI, putting them at a disadvantage for the remainder of the game.
Different perspectives on contesting in the game.
“Contesting is part of the game,” ZachMazer stated in his lengthy post about the POI Draft system, and many others appear to agree. Contesting not only provided viewers with off-drop excitement, but winning the contest put KP on the board and potentially put the team in a good end-game position. Contesting also promoted griefing, which is another strategy for preventing a team that is competing with you from moving on to the next round.
Conflicting Opinions on the Impact of the Draft System
Popular pro Verhulst and retired pro HisWattson see the draft system as a positive change, with HisWattson claiming it will “push the level of play upwards.” For many pros, the draft system is the worst change in Apex Legends history, but it is welcomed by others, with Verhulst and HisWattson both having stated that “contesting has always been the worst part of Apex.”
Fairness vs. Balance in the Draft System.
While the snake draft sounds fair on paper, FURIA coach Jxmo shared his concerns that fairness “doesn’t mean it’s balanced.” Those at the bottom of the list will always be forced to choose between POIs that no one wanted, with some POIs on the possible list not even being places where teams chose to land in the previous system.
Unanswered Questions in the New POI Draft System.
So the question arises—who will land Cliffside?