7-Eleven Slurpee Cup Preview
The Spring Split of the North American RLCS returns this weekend with the 7-Eleven Slurpee Cup, as sixteen of North America’s top teams compete for qualification to the Spring Major in London and the World Championship in Dallas! G2 Esports has already locked up a spot in the World Championship, but no other team has clinched yet. As the end of the season inches closer and closer, every matchup, game, and goal will be more important than ever before. With the teams seeded into a difficult double-elimination bracket, even one loss could be the difference between making it to the World Championship and watching it from home.
Worlds on the Line
Though G2 Esports are the only team from North America that has currently clinched a spot in Dallas, three more teams could join them this weekend. The General NRG needs a top-two finish to clinch their spot, which would continue a historic run for star player GarrettG. GarrettG is the only player to have qualified for every RLCS World Championship, all the way back to Season 1 in 2016. Qualifying for Dallas would continue that stretch, further cementing GarrettG as one of the best players of all time.
Even if The General NRG fails to clinch this weekend, their first two splits were so successful that they should qualify for Dallas no matter what. GarrettG’s stretch of every RLCS LAN event, which was extended by their qualification for the Fall and Winter Majors, however, could be in jeopardy with a poor result this weekend. After falling to a twelfth-place finish in the Verizon 5G Ultra Cup last time out, and North America’s improving depth, a second consecutive poor finish could see The General NRG miss out on London and the Spring Major altogether.
The other two teams that can clinch a World Championship spot in the 7-Eleven Slurpee Cup are FaZe Clan and Spacestation Gaming. FaZe Clan can lock up their place by finishing third or better in the event, which would mean just matching their third-place finish last time out. Spacestation Gaming can theoretically clinch, but it would require an incredible amount of results to break their way, and they will likely have to wait until NA Regional 3. This is still quite impressive for Spacestation Gaming, as they have not won an event all season and even missed out on the Fall Major after losing a tiebreaker to Complexity Gaming.
The Bracket
(image courtesy of Rocket League Esports)
G2 Esports vs. Pittsburgh Knights
Back-to-back event winners G2 Esports have been the most dominant and successful team in the world recently. They stormed through both the Winter Major and the Verizon 5G Ultra Cup, only losing once in each event. Both losses came in the Grand Finals, but they were able to regain in the bracket resets of each event and win both. Their first round opponents, Pittsburgh Knights, are making their RLCS debut as a team this season. Every player does have RLCS experience, but jruss has not played in an RLCS event this season.
Oxygen Esports vs. Rogue
Oxygen Esports were the surprise team of the Winter Split, as the addition of gimmick saw them finish top six every single event. However, they fell short of the Winter Major, and put up a disappointing twelfth-place finish last time out. Rogue, after the addition of aqua, struggled through the Winter Split, but improved as it went on. They finished eighth in the Verizon 5G Ultra Cup, and showed flashes of a roster that can contend. Both teams will be looking to put it all together and make a run for a spot in the Spring Major.
Version1 vs. AllMid
After finishing sixth at the Winter Major, Version1 had high expectations entering the Spring Split. They opened the Split with a sixth-place finish, and are certainly still in contention for London. They got hot at the end of the Winter Split, winning the final event and storming through the group stage of the Winter Major. Their opponents, AllMid, are in their second consecutive event after only playing in one throughout the first two splits. They have yet to pick up a win in the RLCS. The two teams met last time out, with Version1 taking a 3-1 win.
The General NRG vs. Torrent
The General NRG will be looking to bounce back from two consecutive events finishing twelfth, after they had not finished worse than fourth all season. They need a good result to keep their hopes of a Spring Major berth alive, and can also clinch a spot at the World Championship with a second-place finish or better. Torrent will also be looking to bounce back after missing out on the Verizon 5G Ultra Cup. They dominated the closed qualifier, going 9-2 with their only two game losses to Ghost Gaming, who finished fourth last time out. This will be their first main event with new signing Zineel.
Spacestation Gaming vs. XSET
Spacestation Gaming have yet to win an event this season, but have been the second best team in North America the last two times they hit the pitch. They finished an impressive third in the Winter Major, and they took G2 Esports to six games after winning the first series of a bracket reset last time out. XSET are back in the RLCS after missing out on the Verizon 5G Ultra Cup, the first time they missed out on an event this season. Their current roster, with rapid, will be competing together for the first time in the RLCS.
Team Envy vs. Ghost Gaming
These two teams matched up in the lower quarterfinals of the Verizon 5G Ultra Cup, with Ghost Gaming taking a dominant 4-1 win on their way to a fourth-place finish in the event. Team Envy had their best result since adding dreaz at the beginning of the Winter Split, and should only continue to improve with more experience since adding Allushin to the starting roster before this split. Ghost Gaming have bounced back from a difficult Winter Split, and will be looking to continue their success as they fight for qualification to the Spring Major.
FaZe Clan vs. Axle-R8
FaZe Clan will be pushing for a World Championship spot this event, as making it to the top three would secure their spot in Dallas. They will also be looking to break the streak of missing out on Grand Finals, as the last time they appeared in one was the very first event of the season. Axle-R8 will be playing in their second consecutive event, after they only qualified for one event in the first two splits of the season. The two teams met in the first round of the Verizon 5G Ultra Cup as well, with FaZe Clan taking a 3-1 victory in the series.
Complexity Gaming vs. Susquehanna Soniqs
Fall Major qualifiers Complexity Gaming will be looking to bounce back from an early exit last time out, as they finished in twelfth-place with a loss to Akrew. They are still in the race for a World Championship Wildcard spot, as North America will likely send six or seven teams to Dallas. If they can qualify for the Spring Major by bouncing back over the next two events, they would almost certainly be punching a ticket to Dallas. Their first round opponents are the Susquehanna Soniqs, who lost both of their series in the Verizon 5G Ultra Cup. The Soniqs have only missed out on one event this season, and went 3-1 in the closed qualifier.
Make sure to tune into the 7-Eleven Slurpee Cup this weekend, beginning at 1pm EDT (7pm CEST) Friday - Sunday. With Spring Major and World Championship spots on the line, every match matters. North America was full of surprises and upsets last weekend, so you won’t want to miss out. Team streams on Friday will supplement the main channel, which covers every match all weekend long at twitch.tv/rocketleague.
