Mobil 1 Mountain Classic Review
A First Success for Version1
Ever since the format was changed at the beginning of RLCS X, and Version1 made their debut as a roster, they had struggled to find the same success as their predecessor Cloud9. Cloud9 were RLCS 6 World Champions, and recognized as one of the dominant forces in North America. But Version1 failed to even make a Grand Final appearance, finishing no higher than third in their first 16 months of existence.
But the addition of BeastMode before the Winter Split of this season sparked something new. Version1 finished fourth in the X Games Open, looking stellar as a new roster. Though they fell to a ninth place finish in the Rocket League 351, they had still played well, losing only to two top-six finishers in the Winter Split in The General NRG and Oxygen Esports. Then, it all clicked in the Mobil 1 Mountain Classic, as they didn’t drop a single series and went 7-1 against previous tormentors The General NRG, including a dominant 4-1 to win it in all in the Grand Finals.
Version1 is finally where they hoped to be when joining the Rocket League scene: atop North America. Now, they’ll turn their attention to the Winter Major in Los Angeles, as they enter as North America’s #4 seed and will take their momentum to the international stage.
An Emergent Big Three
For years, the North American RLCS was ruled by a “big three”: NRG Esports, G2 Esports, and Cloud9. They won seemingly everything, losing only to each other. However, with the disbandment of Cloud9 and the format change, this all changed. There was more parity in North America, and even the best teams couldn’t find consistent success. Surprise teams would win events and every weekend carried suspense.
Despite Version1’s success this weekend, a new big three seems to have emerged in North America - The General NRG, FaZe Clan, and G2 Esports. These three teams rounded out the top four with Version1 this week, and are the only three who qualified for both the Fall Major and the Winter Major. The General NRG led the way, having made every Grand Final in the Winter Split and leading the region in points. FaZe Clan and new pickup Sypical finished within the top four of every event, and G2 Esports won the Rocket League 351 to go along with a third place finish in the Mobil 1 Mountain Classic. The three teams are the best and most consistent of the region, and will only look to build on their success in Los Angeles.
(image courtesy of Rocket League Esports)
A Tight Race to the Major
Joining Version1 and the big three at the Winter Major are Spacestation Gaming, who barely missed out on the Fall Major after losing to Complexity Gaming in a tiebreaker. They will be North America’s #5 seed, having beaten out Oxygen Esports by only 60 points. They finished second and third in the first two events, but fell out on day one of this event, ultimately placing ninth. They didn’t secure their qualification until FaZe Clan beat Oxygen Esports in the Lower Quarterfinals, but are happy to have made it nonetheless.
(image courtesy of Rocket League Esports)
Oxygen Esports should be disappointed to miss out, as they finished fifth/sixth in every event and consistently proved themselves. They’ll be improving until the Spring Split, as they are still integrating new signing gimmick and will be hungry to qualify for the Spring Major. Also watching the Los Angeles major from home will be Complexity Gaming and Team Envy, who both qualified for the Fall Major but missed out after a disappointing Winter Split. Both were still alive going into the Mobil 1 Mountain Classic, but both lost to The General NRG and missed out on Los Angeles. Complexity Gaming finished in the top four in the final event, and will look to build on that come the Spring Split. Team Envy was integrating new signing dreaz, and improved throughout the Split, which is a positive for the future.
Also in contention were Rogue, but they picked up their only series win against RLCS 2021-22 debutants AllMid, who ultimately went 0-3, before losing to another first-time team in Randoms. However, Randoms was not to be taken lightly, as they had upset The General NRG in the group stage and emerged as second in Group A. Group A was won by eventual champions Version1, as they went a perfect 9-0 to make it to the Upper Semifinals. Despite putting up a good fight, Shopify Rebellion finished last in the group, as they lost a tiebreaker to The General NRG.
FaZe Clan won a tight Group B that included Rogue, Team Envy, and AllMid, going 9-4 in their games before losing to G2 Esports in the Upper Semifinals by a disappointing 4-1 scoreline. G2 Esports beat FaZe Clan 4-2 and 4-1 in this split, and FaZe Clan will need to find a way through them if they truly want to compete for titles. G2 Esports got to that match against FaZe Clan by going a perfect 9-0 in the group stage, easily topping Group C. Group C also featured Oxygen Esports, Susquehanna Soniqs and Charlotte Phoenix, three teams who were in contention for the Winter Major and came up shy.
Group D featured the second rematch between Spacestation Gaming and Complexity gaming since their clash in the Fall Major Qualifier, and this time Complexity Gaming came out on top. For the second event in a row, they met in the group stage, with the winner going on to win the group. However, this time, instead of losing and going 0-3 in the group, Complexity Gaming won the matchup 3-1 and ultimately won the group 3-0. Spacestation Gaming was relegated to the lower playoff bracket, where they lost to Oxygen Esports.
(images courtesy of Rocket League Esports)
The Mountain
As was speculated, Kronovi, aka The Mountain, was honored throughout the event. His name was in the title, and he joined the desk as an analyst for Championship Sunday. The Rocket League Esports team also put together a montage of his best plays, and posted a great tribute to him on YouTube. Kronovi was one of the most dominant and successful pros in the history of RLCS, so it was great to see that recognized. Hopefully, Kronovi will be back for the Winter Major in Los Angeles, joining the qualifying teams beginning March 23rd and the fans on March 26th-27th. Next weekend, Europe finishes up their Winter Split with the Copa de Rocket League, beginning Friday at 11 a.m. EST!
