The announcement of ApeX spread like wildfire across the North American League scene. From Twitter threads to Reddit discussions, everyone buzzed with speculation and excitement about the rebranded Green Tipped Bananas. ApeX had taken a bold step, signaling their ambition to compete with the best, and now it was time to back it up with results.

  To commemorate the moment, the entire team gathered for a joint stream, an unprecedented move that immediately drew 2,200 viewers. Cameras clicked on, except for Nior, revealing each member proudly wearing their black-and-gold ApeX jerseys. The sleek design, with its bold X logo, was a hit with the fans.

  Titan adjusted his headset and leaned into the mic. “Welcome, everyone. You’ve been with us since the beginning as Green Tipped Bananas, and today, we debut as ApeX. This name represents our ambition, our drive, and our goal to stand at the top. Thank you for believing in us.”

  BladeSong grinned, leaning back in his chair. “Yeah, yeah, inspirational speech and all that. Let’s talk about the big announcement!”

  Hai chuckled. “Classic BladeSong. Never change, man.”

  Titan nodded. “We are happy to announce our participation in the North American Worlds qualifiers. Let's go over the format Riot just put out.”

  The stream continued by overviewing Riot’s official outlined the tournament structure. The North American Worlds Qualifier would feature 32 teams in a best-of-three bracket, with only three world spots up for grabs. It was an online tournament to be held over three days. The ESL Premier League, which GTB had been competing in, would pause for a month to accommodate the world qualifiers and international tournament.

  Titan knew the challenge ahead. All of the ESL teams would be participating and this tournament was double-elimination. In order to qualify, they would have to beat one of the top 4 teams: TSM, CLG, Rock Solid, or unRestricted in a series. Twice.

  They would have to play out of their minds.

  Only a few days later, the Worlds Qualifier began. ApeX’s first match was against a lesser-known amateur team, eager to make a statement. However, the disparity in level became apparent from the very first wave.

  Game 1

  ApeX stuck with their bread-and-butter scaling composition: Titan on Zilean, BladeSong on Sivir, Nior on Leona, Hai on Xin Zhao, and Balls on Malphite. Their opponents opted for a chaotic, early-game aggression comp featuring Renekton, Jarvan IV, and a bot lane of Dr. Mundo and Sion.

  From the get-go, Hai asserted dominance in the jungle. At three minutes, he invaded Jarvan’s blue buff and forced a flash, setting the tone for the match. By six minutes, he had secured a second buff steal, putting the enemy jungler hopelessly behind.

  “Stay behind me,” Hai said confidently. “I’ll break their tempo.”

  At eight minutes, Nior’s roaming instincts shone. A perfectly-timed Solar Flare midlane stunned Jarvan and set up Titan’s double Time Bomb for first blood. “Nice setup, Nior,” Titan said, his Zilean already scaling into a roaming threat.

  The mid-game belonged to Balls. His Unstoppable Force consistently caught three or more enemies in crucial teamfights. At 20 minutes, Hai and Nior set up a dragon fight with perfect zoning, allowing Balls to engage cleanly and BladeSong to sweep up with a triple kill.

  “Easy triple,” BladeSong said, grinning. “Keep feeding me like this.”

  ApeX dismantled their opponents methodically, closing the game in under 30 minutes with no room for counterplay.

  Victory.

  Game 2

  In the second game, the opponents switched to a pick-heavy composition, desperate to break ApeX’s control. ApeX countered by flexing their strategy: Titan moved onto Kassadin, BladeSong switched to Tristana for stronger mid-game power, and Nior picked Janna for disengage.

  Despite the opponents’ attempts at aggression, Hai shut them down early, securing first blood in a jungle skirmish at five minutes. “They’re desperate,” Hai said over comms. “Let them overreach.”

  The highlight came at 23 minutes when the opponents attempted a risky Baron bait. Titan’s Kassadin Riftwalked over the wall and unleashed a devastating combo, deleting both carries in seconds. The team followed up with a clean ace, securing Baron.

  “Great timing, Titan,” Nior typed in the chat.

  With the Baron buff, ApeX tore through their opponents’ defenses. BladeSong picked up another triple kill as the Nexus exploded.

  “Clean and easy,” Hai said as they logged off. “Let’s keep it this way.”

  Victory.

  ApeX’s second-round opponents were known soloque players, widely regarded as pretty solid. While the games promised to be more challenging, ApeX’s synergy had been developing for months now, and they were sure they were the better team.

  Game 1

  ApeX drafted a powerful control composition: Titan on Morgana, BladeSong on Sivir, and Balls on Malphite as the core. Their opponents countered with a poke-heavy comp featuring Ezreal and Zilean.

  The game was even for the first 15 minutes. Both teams traded objectives and skirmishes, but at 20 minutes, ApeX’s coordination shone. Nior’s Leona landed a clutch Solar Flare, stunning three enemies and opening the fight. Hai dove in with Xin Zhao, isolating Ezreal, while Balls followed up with a flawless Unstoppable Force.

  BladeSong capitalized on the chaos, picking up a triple kill as the team wiped their opponents.

  “Textbook execution,” Titan said, his tone calm and focused. “Let’s close it out clean.”

  From that point, ApeX dominated. They pushed methodically, knocking down turrets and claiming the Nexus.

  Victory.

  Game 2

  In the second game, the opponents switched to a bruiser-heavy comp to try and overwhelm ApeX in extended fights. But ApeX adapted seamlessly. Nior’s Janna provided unmatched peel for BladeSong’s Tristana, while Titan’s Zilean kept the team alive through clutch Chronoshifts.

  The game’s defining moment came at 25 minutes in a Baron fight. Balls’s Gangplank landed a devastating barrel combo that chunked the enemy carries to half health. Titan followed with a perfectly timed double Time Bomb stun, and BladeSong cleaned up with a quadra kill.

  “Quadra kill!” BladeSong shouted, his excitement contagious. “Who’s carrying now?”

  The team laughed as they pushed through the base, dismantling the Nexus with ease.

  Victory.

  ApeX’s debut was dominant, sweeping both series on their way into the top 8 of the Worlds Qualifier.

  “We’re officially top 8,” Hai said. “Let’s keep this momentum going.”

  “Damn right,” BladeSong added. “Let’s make history.”

  Titan was already mentally planning for their next opponent, unRestricted eSports. As he did, a

  notification appeared in his Status screen:

  Quest Log:

  1. Top Dog

  - Defeat TSM, CLG, Rock Solid, or unRestricted in a series.

  - Progress: Pending upcoming series vs unRestricted.

  - Reward: 500 Template Points.

  2. Make Worlds

  - Finish top 3 at the North American Worlds Qualifier.

  - Progress: Top 8 secured.

  - Reward: 1000 Template Points and a Random Silver Badge.

  Titan considered the implications of completing these quests. If he won, he would likely earn the opportunity for more potential points and badges. Not to mention his team would develop from the experience too. Simply put, a competitive performance now would snowball for seasons to come. On the other hand, if they failed here he might not be strong enough to gather more points in the future.

  The climb to the apex was steep, but as Titan logged off for the night, he knew one thing for certain: they were ready for the next challenge.