What Is Apex Legends’ POI Draft System? And Why Is It Causing So Much Drama Right Now?

The Apex Legends Global Series (ALGS) has made one of its boldest moves yet with the introduction of a brand-new POI Draft System — and while it was meant to level the playing field, it’s now at the center of a storm of drama ahead of LAN.

Before we dive into the controversy, let’s break down exactly what the POI draft is and how it works.

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🔍 What Is a POI in Apex Legends?

In Apex Legends, a POI (Point of Interest) refers to the named drop zones scattered across each map — like Fragment East, Barometer, or Thermal Station. These spots are crucial to competitive play because they influence loot quality, rotations, early fights, and overall team strategies.

Traditionally, teams claim their favorite POIs through either longstanding agreements or brute force during scrims. But that often led to gatekeeping and predictability. To shake things up, ALGS introduced a POI Draft System — a new format designed to inject Variety, fairness, and strategic chaos into competitive Apex.

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🗺️ How the ALGS POI Draft System Works

Here’s the breakdown:

• Each team gets a set of draft picks for all nine regular-season match days.
• The draft uses a snake draft format — meaning if a team picks early one day, they’ll pick late the next, and vice versa.
• Each team picks two POIs per match day: one for Storm Point and one for World’s Edge.
• Once a team selects a POI, it’s locked out for other teams during that match series.
• The order of draft picks changes for every match day, so no team has a permanent advantage.
• On game day, each team is dropped from a unique dropship above their assigned POI.

This system is meant to test a team’s flexibility and preparation — encouraging them to mastermultiple drop spots and strategies rather than relying on comfort picks every match.

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🔥 So Why Is There Drama?

As idealistic as the system sounds, reality is proving messy. According to several sources in the scene, including @ImMadnessTV, the drafts are being completely ignored by a growing number of teams — many of whom were directly invited or are part of the Content Creator (CC) program.

Here’s what’s going wrong:

• Tons of teams aren’t showing up for the drafts or scrims.
• Concerns are growing about whether all 160 team slots will even be filled at LAN.
• There are major VISA delays, especially for international squads.
• Some fear creator teams might get late invites to fill the gaps — which could turn early rounds into kill races rather than structured competition.

@_minustempo (CEO of Oversight Esports and former TSM pro) suggested that North American CC teams might be used to fill missing slots, but there’s uncertainty about how many are available or willing to step in.

The biggest concern? Teams not taking the draft seriously are disrupting the format entirely. If teams can’t be relied on to show up and participate in drafts, the entire idea of strategic map Control and balanced drop zones gets thrown out the window.

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🟠 A Cool Format — At Risk of Collapse?

The POI draft system was a smart evolution for competitive Apex. It promotes adaptability, nerfs the gatekeeping of “owned” drop spots, and makes for a more dynamic viewing experience.

But when invited teams ghost scrims, skip drafts, and give the vibe that they’re just waiting for LAN to show up and frag… the system breaks.

And with VISA issues and last-minute substitutions on the Horizon, fans and Players alike are bracing for what might be the most chaotic LAN Apex has ever seen.

Will EA step in? Will stricter enforcement be applied? Or are we heading toward a tournament where drop zones, comms, and structure take a backseat to pure chaos?

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Stay tuned as this unfolds — and for all things Apex Legends esports, from ALGS updates to team news and hot takes, check out ALegends.gg.

Source: ALGS POI System via YouTube, @ImMadnessTV on X

Frequently Asked Questions about the ALGS POI Draft Drama