Apex Legends Winter Circuit 2021: NRG's Top Plays, Prize Money from Final

Christy Radecic/Associated Press

And just like that, NRG have proved its dominance over the North American Apex Legends bracket. At the culmination of the Apex Legends Winter Circuit, the esports organization has pulled away with a neat $48,000, 4,500 Apex Legends Global Series Points and its region's highest honor.

And it wasn't easy, by any means, for NRG to outduel the competition. With a tournament format predicated on reaching 50 points to set up a match-point final, NRG clutched up and saved its best performance for last.

Four different teams hit match point in Round 6, but that's when NRG decided to light things up. In the match-point grand finale, NRG hit its highest placement of the day (first) and its highest kill count (15).

That wildly clutch performance was enough for the NA org to win the entire Winter Circuit with a four-point lead. As such, Nathan "Nafen" Nguyen, Aidan "rocker" Gordin and Chris "sweetdreams" Sexton came away with fatter wallets and enough ALGS points to set themselves up for success in the Apex Legends Global Series.

Apex Legends Winter Circuit 2021 Playoffs

✨ Watch more top videos, highlights, and B/R original content

1. NRG: 79 points

2. TSM: 75 points

3. SolaFide: 75 points

4. Counter Logic Gaming: 74 points

5. Team Liquid: 51 points

After NRG, three other teams were in firm contention for the win. TSM, on the back of two games with double-digit kills, came incredibly close—finishing third in Round 7 but falling just short of the 79-point mark.

Similarly, SolaFide set themselves up for success with top-five finishes in each of the first five rounds, including a first-place, 10-kill win in Round 3. But, over the last two rounds, the org's trio couldn't finish within the top 10 or exceed three kills, proving its downfall.

It was the opposite problem for CLG, which came second with eight-plus kills in three of the seven rounds. Unfortunately, those big performances sandwiched some absolutely mediocre games. In Round 2 and Round 6, CLG placed 20th (last place) with zero kills.

In the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) bracket, it was FlavorOfTheMonth that dominated the field and deserved to be known as FlavorOfTheWinter. With a whopping 80 points, it won with a 16-point lead over second place. Like NRG, it showed that the best teams finish strong—winning the last round and securing big money and placement points for the Global Series Championship.