After I first sat down with Bowen “Monsoon” Fuller, we have been each out of breath. Moments earlier, he and his teammates on staff Oblivion had simply pulled off the unthinkable: profitable the Apex Legends International Sequence (ALGS) 12 months 5 Championship in Sapporo, Japan. On the fourth and remaining day of the competitors, Fuller and his staff had miraculously beat out Philip “ImperialHal” Dosen’s Crew Falcons, who have been extremely favored to win and had maintained their number-one spot all through the primary three days of the occasion, however misplaced to Oblivion in a surprising ninth and remaining match on the final day.
I noticed I needed to interview Fuller when, after Oblivion clinched the win, he reacted by placing on a Japanese maid costume.
“You are about to see a person carry a trophy in a maid outfit,” one announcer identified, chuckling. “When you have no idea the story of that man, Monsoon, let me let you know, it is a tearjerker, but it surely’s one among exhausting work, it is one among perseverance, and now’s one with a conclusion that he could not have dreamed of at one level, from homeless to worldwide main champion.”
By the point I talked to him only a few moments later, Fuller had swapped out the maid outfit for the coveted ALGS Championship jacket offered to every member of the profitable staff. Grinning from ear to ear, his pleasure was contagious.
“Insane, simply loopy,” he replied after I requested him to explain how he is feeling. “Excellent. Completely bonkers.”
Oblivion’s win marked the first-ever ALGS win by a female-coached staff, and Fuller says coach RubyKaster was pivotal to the staff’s success.
“Ruby put in loads of nice work and believed in us from the beginning,” Fuller stated. “We have been free brokers for the previous 5 months, so having the ability to dedicate as a lot time as all of us did into it actually contributed [to the win.]”
By “free brokers,” Fuller means his squad’s standing as an “orgless” staff: one which is not backed by a serious esports group. Oblivion can be the primary staff to win the ALGS Championship after making the reduce throughout the Final-Likelihood Qualifiers, which occur solely two months earlier than the championship and see 40 groups who have not but certified go head-to-head for a spot on the greatest competitors in Apex Legends esports. Fuller says that as an unsigned staff, the championship win means “all the pieces” to Oblivion.
“It is whole validation in ourselves as a staff, as particular person gamers, making it work when clearly, no one — or not lots of people — actually believed [in us] within the ways in which we did. That is simply all the pieces to me, it simply fulfilled my goals.”
Fuller is an skilled participant, and has competed in Apex Legends tournaments for the reason that recreation first launched in 2019, however his life hasn’t been simple. He is struggled with homelessness, at one level establishing his PC in eating places like Taco Bell to make the most of the free wi-fi.
“I used to be homeless rising up and by no means completed college,” he tells me after I ask if he has any recommendation for the droves of FPS gamers who need to go professional. “The one factor that I saved from all of my belongings when my household and I have been going via that was my little laptop. So finally, comply with your coronary heart and do what you’re keen on — which is so cliche, but it surely’s true. It is one factor to understand it, but it surely’s one other factor to know it, and also you perceive it whenever you do cool shit like this.”
Oblivion had an particularly rocky yr in 2025. The staff signed with esports group KOI in April, earlier than teammates Miguel “Blinkzr” Quiles and Brandon “FunFPS” Groombridge left the group in September and reformed Oblivion with Fuller, leaving the trio of ALGS champs only a few months to follow collectively as a staff earlier than Final-Likelihood Qualifiers in November — and no group to again them.
“I took somewhat little bit of a break and got here again, and this was my first occasion again,” Fuller stated.
Whereas Oblivion’s win got here as a shock to most attendees, Fuller knew as quickly as he awoke that morning that his staff would win.
“I regarded Enjoyable in his eyes, and I used to be like, “You realize we’re profitable this shit, 100%,” Fuller stated of a dialog he’d had with teammate Brandon Groombridge that morning. “So [I had] full religion. And in the event you do not, you then’re in all probability not going to win, to be sincere.”
Fuller advised me he is performed loads of FPS video games in his life, however Apex’s complexity is what retains him coming again.
“There are such a lot of dynamics within the recreation, and there are such a lot of issues it’s important to take into consideration, so many variables that go into success or failure,” he defined. “It simply retains you actually in your toes, it retains your mind going. While you hit these peaks, it is exhausting to seek out these peaks once more, however Apex does it for me.”
The just lately topped champ undoubtedly hit a kind of peaks with this ALGS win, which despatched the gang of almost 15,000 attendees right into a deafening frenzy that could possibly be heard from exterior the Sapporo Dome the place the occasion was being held. With regard to his future plans, Fuller advised me a celebration was first on the record.
“I will be celebrating with loads of alcohol, most probably,” he stated, working his fingers via his hair and nonetheless attempting to catch his breath. “I’ll get fucked up. I used to be going to get fucked up regardless, however I might need a pair additional drinks now, possibly die, I do not know.”
After all of the bottles have popped, staff Oblivion remains to be in search of a brand new group. With the ALGS 12 months 5 Championship trophy of their possession, that activity simply acquired an entire lot simpler.
However profitable the trophy as an unsigned squad does include a serious benefit: Not like groups backed by esports organizations, the members of staff Oblivion will likely be ready hold each cent of their $600,000 prize to themselves, slightly than splitting the winnings with the group they signify. Which means more cash in Fuller’s pocket, and anybody who witnessed Oblivion’s efficiency on the ALGS Championship will agree these winnings have been well-earned and well-deserved.
Which means the {hardware} comes residence, too. In accordance with Fuller, the large ALGS Championship trophy is as heavy because it seems to be — “in all probability 35, 40 kilos” — and he has the proper spot for it: a shelf above the hearth within the “stunning little condo” he now shares together with his fiancée, after seven years of grinding away at aggressive Apex Legends.
“I did not need to step away from Apex till I received one thing.”
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