Hockser set to sign with Ghost Gaming; XSET seeking replacement

Written By Elliot McSheen

Ghost Gaming have finalized their decision to sign Colby "hockser" James heading into the Spring Split. XSET will explore their options for the foreseeable future but have made Jalen "rapid" Parker from Shopify Rebellion their initial target to replace hockser.

Having been targeted as a replacement for Roll Dizz following the Winter Split, hockser was able to show his abilities at the Hercules Tires Invitational 2 where the team managed to reach the grand finals before losing out to Rogue in a seven game series. Considering Ghost Gaming’s form prior to the event, this was a significant improvement on their Winter Split performances with hockser playing a key role. As a result, both team and management have settled on the XSET man to be the new addition to Ghost Gaming’s roster for the Spring Split.

Both Nathan "Shock" Frommelt and hockser enjoyed a breakout period as teammates back in late 2018 playing on Afterthought. Together, they were able to qualify and compete in the WSOE 4 Rocket League Showdown on LAN alongside Nick "mist" Costello ahead of established RLCS names such as Rogue, Ghost Gaming and Evil Geniuses. Their success ushered in a new generation of players that came to the forefront in 2019 including the likes of Slater "retals" Thomas, Jirair "Gyro." Papazian and Caden "Sypical" Pellegrin. However, this marks the first time the pair has linked up on a team since Shock’s controversial and unceremonious removal from Afterthought (later named to Birds) in February 2019. Amid the drama, a combination of Shock, hockser and Zoli "zol" Digness crowned themselves winners of the North American Renegade Cup Finals in what was a bittersweet moment that brought an end to the seven month partnership between the two players. Now, that partnership has been reignited three years on from the controversy.

With hockser’s departure in motion, XSET are seeking a replacement for their former player. They have already given a trial to rapid and played with him on Corelli’s stream in scrims against FURIA Esports but will be considering their options in the lead up to Spring Split’s roster lock.

The Ghost Gaming roster for the Spring Split is set to consist of:

  • 🇺🇸 Colby "hockser" James

  • 🇺🇸 Hunter "LionBlaze" Woitas

  • 🇺🇸 Nathan "Shock" Frommelt

  • 🇺🇸 Jaryd "Fakey" Weber (coach) 

Elliot McSheen

Elliot "Sly" McSheen is a freelance writer and the occasional Rocket League Esports historian who has worked within the scene for four years on endemic projects such as Octane.gg and Rocket League 6mans. In RLCS Season 9 he became the official RLCS statistician for the season and continues to play with numbers to this day.

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