Is Apex Legends Esports' Match Point Format Fit For Purpose?

thegamer.com:

I’ve talked about the Match Point format before, and I’ll likely talk about it again before too long, but it remains Apex Legends esports’ - or rather, the Apex Legends Global Series’ in particular - most controversial rule.

To vastly oversimplify it, in competitions that use the rule a team must reach 50 points and then win a match to win the tournament. This creates excitement for the viewer, as any Match Point Eligible team can take the win, rather than the situation in other battle royale competitions (and indeed other Apex competitions) where the result is a foregone conclusion because one team is so far ahead of the pack before the final match. It doesn't matter whether you're playing the meta with Valkyrie or off the wall with Fuse - who's a surprisingly good pick - if you're on Match Point, you can win it in the next round.

Related: How Washed Defied The Odds To Qualify For Apex Legends Pro League

However, this is raising questions of fairness. If one team is so far ahead of the pack, shouldn’t they deserve to win, whether it’s anticlimactic or not? This was the specific situation that Reignite found itself in during the ALGS Split 1 Playoffs this weekend.

The Australian team was 21 points ahead of second-placed Team Burger (who were first place in my personal awards for Best Team Name) after eight matches, having secured six top five finishes and gathering an impressive 45 kills. However, with eight teams having surpassed the 50-point threshold by this time, it was still anyone’s to win. Fans of Reignite were likely nervous, but for everyone else things were just getting exciting.

As it happens, fourth-placed DreamFire beat Reignite in the final showdown of Match 9 to be crowned champions of Split 1. The