“Every legend should be strong”: Year 4 champ Uxako on Apex Legends in 2025

Uxako is one of the most popular athletes in competitive Apex Legends in 2025, as he was one of three players who secured victory in the Apex Legends Global Series (ALGS) Championship for Year 4. He took home the gold as a member of GoNext Esports, but Uxako has since transitioned into a core member of Natus Vincere.

Natus Vincere dropped out of the ALGS Open in Elimination Round 5, but Esports Insider had the opportunity to speak with Uxako at the May competition, where he shared his opinions and insights into the current state of competitive Apex.

As the most recent winner of an ALGS Championship, Uxako is well-placed to comment on how the format can affect a competition. He had mixed thoughts on the factors present in the latest tournament, but one of the features he likes this year is the new legend ban system.

“I think the ban system has a positive impact on the game. It rewards flexible players and not just the meta characters all the time.”

For a pro player like Uxako, legend versatility is easy to navigate, so it’s no surprise that he prefers the ban mechanic. However, the Natus Vincere member doesn’t like the map pool for the ALGS in 2025.

Broken Moon was introduced to the ALGS in Year 5, and many athletes don’t like that a fourth map is in the lineup. Uxako also voiced this opinion: “I don’t think all the maps we have right now are ready for competitive, mainly Broken Moon.”

As Broken Moon becomes more common in Apex esports, it’ll likely receive changes to bring it in line with other competitive maps.

Though Broken Moon may not be up to Uxako’s standards, he was excited to share his favorite locales in Apex Legends.

When we asked Uxako about the best map for competitive play, he responded: “E-District or Storm Point.”

Both E-District and Storm Point are present in the ALGS’ map pool in Year 5, so hopefully Uxako won’t have to play on Broken Moon too much.

To become an ALGS champion, competitors need to put in thousands of hours to hone their skills. When we asked Uxako about his schedule, he explained that most of his time is dedicated to practicing in Apex, which was essential to his success.

“During pro league or LAN events, I just play Apex a lot and keep the level up, probably for 10 or more hours a week.”

When asked how Natus Vincere builds team synergy, Uxako shared that camaraderie is important if you want to go pro, as Apex is a game that relies heavily on teamwork. Building strong relationships in real life is important for any successful esports team.

“We play Apex together, and being friends with each other outside of gaming makes a lot of difference,” Uxako said.

If a team wants to make it to the pro leagues, they need to be ready to spend hundreds of hours a year building not only their skill, but also their relationship with other team members. A team that can get along regardless of their environment is set up to win.

Apex Legends receives new updates all the time, though a direct sequel could be on the horizon as Respawn’s battle royale enters Year 5 of the ALGS. If Apex ever gets a major upgrade, then Uxako wants to see better balancing so that every play style can be viable at the competitive level.

When asked what he’d want from an Apex sequel, Uxako said he’d like to see “full diversity.” 

“Not any meta character. Every legend should be strong for different play styles,” voiced Uxako.

Balancing dozens of characters can be difficult in a game like Apex Legends, but many athletes would like to be able to play their favorite characters without being put at a disadvantage. 

Uxako even shared that he loves to play as Pathfinder, but that the legend isn’t very effective on the competitive stage. Hopefully, the lovable robot will get an upgrade soon.

The core takeaway we found from our interview with Uxako is that although he loves Apex Legends, there are many ways that he’d like to see his esport change to make the competitive scene more balanced.

Legend and map diversity are essential if Apex is going to stay relevant in the future, but all the new content needs to be created equally to form a fair environment, and Uxako’s praise for the legend ban system proves that Respawn is heading in the right direction.

As a final call to fans, Uxako told Esports Insider that hopeful players should always strive to achieve their goals, even if it requires a lot of practice: “Just believe in yourself, if you really like it (Apex Legends).”