This match was an important one for us because it was the first time we were going live on ESPN. However, (as we've mentioned a few times previously) this event was beset with technical problems and the worst one occurred during this match. For some reason, the starter buzzer started to stop buzzing. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't (we didn't know it at the time, but it turned out to be a problem with one of the audio cables) and it always seemed to happen when Tempest (especially Tavon) was on the starter plate (that's why you can hear the audience chanting "Tavon! Tavon!" at the start of Chase 9). While we tried to sort the problem out, this gave the Evader a much longer rest than the usual 25 seconds, giving them an unfair advantage. It's impossible to tell whether this would have affected the final outcome but, without a doubt, it definitely made things a lot harder for Tempest so we very much apologies to them for this error. They came as a really strong team this year so it was very frustrating to see them go out like this and we look forward to seeing them back on the Quad. We obviously ended up editing out all of the breaks but if you want to check it out in all its (excruciatingly cringey) glory, go to the ESPN KZfaq page (I haven't brought myself to watch it yet as it bring back bad memories!!). One other thing to point out is that these technical problems had nothing to do with ESPN, who have been great partners and really supportive of WCT, and it's just one of the many unexpected things that can go wrong during live events.

I love how both Seth, Olof, and Amos got their tags with the same tactic of moving through the lazy boy to tag. Excellent to watch. APEX are too OP

At the 2020 championship, Tempest took only fifteenth place, which surprised many people in the community. And now, a year later, at the WCT USA 2021, they are fighting in the forefront and against the champions from Apex! BRAVO TEMPEST 👏 Also very happy to see Apex ETH on the Quad. Top team! 🤯

I'll never get tired of the Sportsmanship in this sport.

damn, Seth really improved his evation skills. He was insane on the chase last year but that part of his skillset was a bit lacking. That Apex BootCamp is showing RESULTS.

Although this match didn’t go their way, mad respect for the tempest boys. Their athleticism and tech blows my mind. It’s difficult to spot because it happens so fast, but watch Nate going against Rob as he vaults out from the mountain. He somehow has the strength and control to react to Rob cutting back by landing on one foot on the mountain table and kicking off into an odd techy stride on the angled rail straight into a vault to enter the loading bay… WTF?! Joe’s got crazy speed and footwork, Nico pulling one of the craziest dive roll tags the sport has yet seen, Tavon always a force to be reckoned with since he had mechanical upgrades in that achilles tendon surgery years ago to enhance his springiness, Brett showing full spectrum skill from good footwork and transitions to fitting through tight spaces, whenever I see Jeff move I always hear a voice in the back of my head say "water bender." 

It was a pleasure battling y’all. Let’s keep working towards taking this sport to the next level, making it more entertaining, and growing this thing for everybody involved.

My god they're just on another level, Tempest breezed through the qualifier and still got dominated. Apex is insane 😱

Holy smokes. Apex is just on a complete different level, it's insane!

Some of the best evasions I've ever seen. Seth and Rob are absolute powerhouses; their navigation seems unmatched. And God damn, Seth's awareness is so calm, and intentional and HE JUST KEEPS GETTING BETTER!

APEX ETH uses Seth Wang... It was very effective!

No contest here - Apex is still in their own league! Still an exciting match to watch though. Despite the outcome becoming obvious early on (especially when you spot that this video is just 7 minutes long), it's just joy to watch these guys blaze through the quad! :)

Apex is strong, Olof and Seth clearly improved a lot from the past WCT, by far my favorite team

Really love watching Olof on the Quad. He is humble, methodical, and watchful. You can see how much Sébastien Foucan‘s influence had on him. In a way, Apex seems to be the closest homage to the OG traceurs, while actively pioneering a way forward. Gotta love this team!👍👍

Nicodemus' dive tag was something else, glad to see him get a moment to shine. Impress performances by all. Sorry to hear about all the technical difficulties. Sounds very frustrating.

cant wait to see Apex go against the euro teams. probably the most competitive matches we'll see

APEX elevated its game even further, Seth is evading godlike now. It's awesome cos you can notice their new tactics at evasions, they are real professionals

Tempest have really improved as a team collectively and individually. They are being more speedy and effective. The roaster is upgraded. Yet I always feel that Tevon's unorthodox gameplay is both his strength and weakness. He is fast, quirky, and technical yet he is risky and nonchalant. I hope he hones his style adequately.

Apex is spoooky - nearly unrivalled depth in their roster and it shows in how lopsided this was against a team that already proved just how formidable they were this year 🤯

Apex is defining the meta

Apex Eth just crushed Tempest with 4 guys and saving Sliger and Bergeron's energy for the next round. How insane was that?

Ok, both teams were incredible to watch and performed really really well. Apex has been my team to watch, but tempest looked to be the ones to give them a run for their money. Amazing amazing match!

I love watching Apex Eth. It's just a master class in WTC. Bravo to tempest for upping their game as well, and making it this far.

Damn what a dominant performance. Both Michael and Jason were not even used!

My god Apex is just on another level! What a performance! Can't wait for the next matches!!! Love this sport

Glad to see the men in black back in action

What makes Apex stand out is their obstacle IQ. Basically every team has one or two people who are exceptional at using the obstacles to their advantage, but every person on Apex knows exactly what obstacles to use to conserve energy and waste time. Pair that with freak athleticism, and you've got a monster team.

You know it's going to be a shut out when Olaf evades first match

Poor Tavon! I saw the technical problems when he was on the starter plate -.- However I think it would have made no difference. APEX ETH just crushed Tempest. There's no other way to put it. Tempest has surely improved since last time but they are no match for APEX ETH! And I think this will happen to most other teams tbh. Envy GNF and Soderman Freerunners (They should really change their name) will win. APEX DOGE vs apkblue will be absolutely amazing to watch :D

i absolutely love watching apex in this. their skills are so insane and i definitely see the improvement from last year too! even when they’re very good they continue to grow

Was waiting to see Michael Sliger but I guess I'll have to wait a bit more 👀

My God! Apex looks like they've kicked it up a notch 😱

Apex is scary good. Clearly the best team in NA right now. In my opinion the best team in the whole world and I would even go as far as saying best ever. (obviously they still have much to accomplish to be the goats, considering they haven't even competed in a world championship yet and marrero gang has won 3). I also just wanted to remember everyone that even tho they didn't need them for this match (that's how good they are) they also have Michael Sliger and Jason Bergeron on their roaster. Usually teams have one or two star players, they legitimatly have 5. I'm rooting for GNF but if I had to bet on a team to win it all, I would bet on Apex Etherium.

It is kinda funny to see Nate being a lot better at evasions rather than chases lol

That was... GOOD. AMAZING, I'd say! Good work to both teams & good luck!

That was a winning evasion fs bro rob pulled out that mountain pass, the apex stalling, and used behind the mountain good fella that guy

Great game! Can't wait til apk blue, been itching to see Mark Bowles with some evasions

APEX $ETH back to back I'mr ready to witness greatness

Wait, a WCT video with Apex Eth that's under 8 minutes? ALMOST under 7!? Come on guys, I know you can get sub 7 XD I love watching this these guys! The movement blows my mind at this level of play!

I was hoping to see a Seth vs Tavon face-off! My favorites from their teams

Rob Schihl on a whole different plane of existence

Apex Was another level brooo, they are the champ

Jeez. I thought only three teams could rival Apex Eth. Tempest, GNF, and Hollywood. Now I’m not sure any team can.

Great match, however image quality seems lower

Why does this look like something from the 90's haha

Its now the Quarter Finals. lets see the intense plays.

Just as dominant as ever

waiting a long time to see apex team

this was absolutely insane🙏🏻

the level of play this year has really improved.

It almost looks like a whole different sport when the top dudes play it. The speed, the agreesiveness is on another level. It's gonna be extremely hard to beat this Apex team

I really hope TAVON would get titles, he is the perfect model of WCT

Great stuff guys 🤙

That right there is a textbook example of advanced WCT play, those are some moves you won’t see from any other teams

When the gods decide to play!

It's almost unfair how good the Apex is. It's like all the best players got together and formed a team. They overpowered just like last year.

3:17 smartest place in the field

Seth is a cheat code for apex.

Apex Eth is definetly my favourite !

Who is Jason? Who is Michael?😂 I'm excited for this team. Amazing start.

Apex got to win it this time round as well. They’re brilliant

Oh, Jesus, APEX ETH are still very amazing! No chances for Tempest, even with Tavon.

« ATHLETES READYYY! » hits hard

whats wrong w the camera bruhh

I don't even think we got to see the Apex players who played playing at their full potential. Another team like Apex (which I don't see here in WCT USA) with four or five star players in one team playing against them would make for insane plays i bet

It looks like tempest changes their strategy from last year. Their going for the tag a lot harder and faster which i think is a good idea, last year they seemed too be way too calculated and strategic didnt work out for them

For the first time watchin' the edited version of Colorado v California, well I love both 🔥

what happened to the quality?

The mountain has been solved by this team!

Love this 🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿💯

Wow, just bruh. Apex E is just fast as F.

clapping even if watching alone. none of the evasions were easy but APEX made it despite Tempest's superb chase. excellent play from both teams.

Crazy pace, seth

Apex ETH🚀🚀🚀

are sleeveless shirts turnament illegal?

Is just me or the image on this video looks different? Don't know exactly what, but I'm sure that something is different. Maybe they've changed their cameras or something like that

5-0? Apex is gonna be rated worldclass for me

STOP EVERYTHING RIGHT NOW, Apex will win this😂😂😂😂🐐🐐🐐

Tempest ran into a buzz saw here. Apex is looking scary.

There's a question I've had for a while, is there any rule about an evader wanting/needing to come off of the court? Would you tick up a round, let the other team have free pick of who goes up (simulating the round that never happened) or would the evading team be forced to make a case in order to replace the player?

only joe and tavon can catch up speed of apex

Déjà vu 🥺great match

Hey world chase tag is that group with the buff cross-fit dude in the competition or not just wondering?

tough, toughh, toughhh, super good 👍🙏

Apex is too stacked 😂

Was this the match with the technical problems at the start? This might've affected the momentum too :( But nothing to really say we all know Apex is top dog.

They are the best and most completed team. Seth has improved too much on evading and this new skill makes him terrifying. Almost at level of Rob and Michael. Olof and Amos did very good too. Neither Jason nos Michael have participated. For winning them the rest of the competition teams best runners would need to make a team.

The discord link is expired. Can we get a new one? I got really excited when I saw that there was a Discord, but then the invite is expired 🥺

new camera? the video looks too bright ... liked regardless.

I started to watch the ESPN coverage when it had come out but stopped. It's good that I got a look on beforehand so it wasn't as bad. I mean, it's okay-ish. One can still follow the chases and it's great to get the coverage. However this is just poor production in comparison to what you are doing! I feel immensely sorry for you...

damn, Apex absolutely dominated this match. ...BTW please tell me the names for Apex's teams are for memes...

Seth is like a Snake!!!!! So nimble!

Tempest underutilized Tavon. How do you use your best and most experienced athlete only once?

Very Nice ^^ :D

Is this WCT 5 without the europeans or WCT USA

What's up with the video quality. Did anyone else notice, the video quality is different(worse) than usual??!

even tho it was 5/0 that match was REALLY good

Is this latest?

I agree

So theres Apex ETH and Apex Doge? lmao

Actually where is erik mukhametshin