History of itachi: From disqualification at 13 to Worlds at age 18
The newest season of the Rocket League Championship Series has brought a lot of new talent to the scene. Well-known players have progressed and are also worth mentioning. One of them is itachi from Karmine Corp. This guy has a unique background behind him, and only this season has he proven his strength. Few people know how itachi started his career in RL and what he faced on his path.
The beginning
The first references to itachi date back to the distant year 2016. He won his first earnings at an online tournament; Metaleak: MetaCup Series - Elite 3. The Moroccan competed with teammates Scrub Killa and Chausette and placed second, earning €120. Again, six years ago, these famous players played an online tournament together. But unlike itachi, Chausette and Scrub Killa were quick to achieve high-profile results and fame. But this had its reasons.
After his team’s second place finish, he continued to play in different online tournaments, namely the ESL GO4 and Gfinity Weekly Cups. And we come to an important day in itachi's career - March 12th, 2017. On that day, his team, ZentoX, managed to qualify for European League Play in the 3rd season of the RLCS, making his team top 8 in this region. It is worth noting that itachi tried to make it into the RLCS in its second season, which took place in August 2016. But his team, of which he was only a sub, placed 17-24th.
ZentoX’s result was sensational and a significant achievement for all players. But just three days later, the happiness turned to disappointment. It turned out that itachi was only thirteen years old, and he lived in Morocco. Both of these things violated the RLCS rulebook, and the team was suspended from participating.
Period of stagnation
For the next three years, itachi was barely visible on the pro-stage. He continued to play online tournaments, even going to DreamHack Valencia in 2019, where he teamed up with Mout and Extra. But he eventually got his chance to show off what he was capable of in the summer of 2020, before the RLCS Season X.
FC Barcelona
On June 8th, 2020, FC Barcelona player Ronaky announced the club’s roster for the upcoming Eurocup 10K, which consisted of Deevo, itachi, and himself. He mentioned that the team would test young talent at this event.
Despite finishing in 5-6th place at this event, itachi was the 2nd best player in the tournament, finishing with an Octane Rating of 1.113. After that, FC Barcelona managed to secure 3rd place at the Rocket Baguette: Summer Grand Prix. On the 24th July, the club officially signed Itachi to the main roster, and together with Deevo, Ronaky, and El General as coach, he started to prepare for his first RLCS Season.
FC Barcelona’s Fall Split of RLCS X was decent at best. They managed to qualify for the RLCS X Fall Major and even made a playoff appearance but lost in the quarterfinals against Team BDS. During the young prodigy’s first split in the RLCS, itachi played 294 maps with FC Barcelona, and his average Octane rating was 1.09.
Vodafone Giants
Ahead of the RLCS X Winter Split, itachi joined the Vodafone Giants, teaming up with Stake and Zamue.
The first Regional Event was success, as they took 3rd place. The squad was knocked out of the tournament by Team Vitality in the lower bracket final.
During the Winter Split, Giants placed second in three separate tournaments: The Monaco Gaming Show, The European Rocket League Summit, and Regional Event 3 of the RLCS. But their result at the RLCS Winter Major wasn't satisfactory for the team, as they only managed to finish in 9th-12th place. With the onset of the spring split, things became even worse for the team. Giants faltered early in two regional events out of three and, as a result, did not even make it to the Spring Major.
A couple of months later, after a disappointing end to the season, Giants released their roster, and itachi and Stake moved on together, looking for a third player to complete their roster. During his two splits with the organization, itachi played 373 maps and averaged an Octane rating of 1.03.
Karmine Corp
Last July, the famous French organization, Karmine Corp, announced their entrance into Rocket League ahead of the RLCS 2021-22 Season.
Itachi started his 2nd RLCS season in a team with Stake and Aztral. The debut of the new roster was incredible. KCorp managed to win WePlay Esports Invitational - EMEA, where they took victory over BDS in the grand final. After that, Karmine Corp finished in the top 4 within the first regional event, which increased their odds of making it to the RLCS Fall Major. But a top 16 finish in the 2nd event, and a top 8 in the 3rd made it impossible for the team to book a spot in Sweden for the first RLCS LAN in two years.
The team decided not to make changes ahead of the Winter Split. KCorp finished in 7th place in the European Rankings in the winter, and for the second time, the organization would not qualify for a major. Many fans doubted that the team would continue with the same roster for the team’s third split, and their suspicions would soon be confirmed.
After a year with itachi, Stake left the team. His replacement was ex-Guild player Noly. Traditionally, Karmine started the split well, finishing 5th-6th at the first regional event. They managed to outdo their regional one performance and ended in 3rd place at the next event. Despite only making top 8 in the third event, Karmine Corp finished the split in fourth place in Europe. For the first time that season, they were headed to an RLCS Major.
LANdon Major
What happened in London was history. On the first day of matches, KCorp secured top 6, grabbing a victory over G2 Esports in the process. On stage, the team had a tough first match against Version1. The teams battled back and forth until eventually, Beastmode performed a miracle on Champions Field, stunning Karmine Corp and the Copper Box Arena with a 0 second game winner. KCorp were sent to the lower bracket. It was here that itachi would play in one of the most important matches in his career
With two other star players on his team, itachi frankly wasn’t KCorp’s star player. But what he did on the seventh map of the match against FURIA in the lower bracket is worth mentioning. Champions Field.The series score is tied 3:3, and FURIA is leading 2:0, with one minute remaining. With fifty-three seconds left in the game, itachi catches the opposition off-guard and scores KCorps first of the game. Just 15 seconds later, itachi again captializes off a FURIA misplay and ties the game, 2:2. Overtime. Itachi starts the attack. After a few touches, the ball bounces off the back-board, itachi flaps his wings, and drops the ball into the opponent's goal.
On the final day, KCorp lost against the eventual Spring Major Champions, Moist Esports, and finished in 4th place. But this result is perfect for a team. Thanks to this performance, they clinched the spot at Worlds and will play in Dallas in early August.
Hard work pays off
In the example of itachi, you can ensure that there's a way out of any situation. This guy had already shown his potential at 13 years old. Then he moved to another country at 16 and reached the top 4 of an RLCS International Major at 18. Indeed, his case is not unique in terms of age. Some players as young as 16 years old became world champions. But not everyone can achieve a meaningful result at just 13 years of age. And then, after three inactive years, make it all the way to an RLCS LAN the hard way.
