Mobil 1 Mountain Classic Preview
The Winter Split concludes in North America this weekend with the Mobil 1 Mountain Classic, as the region’s best teams compete for a spot in the Winter Major at Los Angeles’ Youtube Theater. Previously, in the Rocket League 351, G2 Esports took home the crown, and will be looking for a similar performance to ensure their place in Los Angeles. The General NRG has already booked their tickets, finishing second to G2 Esports in the Rocket League 351 after winning the X Games Open. The two sides have dominated the North American season to this point, winning 4 out of the 5 events, and will certainly be in contention once again.
Major Pressure on Top Teams
With 12 teams still alive for the final four major spots, truly anything can happen this weekend in the Mobil 1 Mountain Classic. However, some teams have it easier than others. G2 Esports is guaranteed a spot if they finish in the top 8, and have several scenarios no matter what. If they come out on top of Group C, in which they are the top seed, or win a playoff matchup after finishing second or third in the group, they’ll not only be playing on day two of this event, they’ll be in Los Angeles at the end of March. FaZe Clan and Spacestation Gaming, who have both finished in the top four for each of the first two events, both need a finish in the top six to clinch their spots, with several other clinching scenarios if they fall short. That means that winning their groups on Friday would send them both to the Major. The two other teams who can clinch without help are Oxygen Esports and Version1, who can both lock up a spot by winning the event. After that, several teams are still alive, but would need a win or very high placement in addition to help from other teams.
Group By Group Breakdown
(image courtesy of Rocket League Esports)
Group A - The General NRG, Version1, Shopify Rebellion, Randoms
Group A sees The General NRG and Version1 matchup for the second regional in a row, with The General NRG having taken a tense 3-2 win last time out. With Version1 needing a very strong performance to make it to Los Angeles, and The General NRG needing to finish in the top three to guarantee they get North America’s top seed, both teams will be highly motivated throughout the group stage. Shopify Rebellion is one of the teams who need help from others to make it to the major, but they are still alive and will put up a strong fight to make sure they can get to Los Angeles. Finishing outside of the top eight would mean they’re certainly eliminated, so look for them to fight to win the group and avoid that fate. Randoms rounds out the group, competing in their first event of the RLCS 2021-22 season, and will look to play spoiler. Though they can’t make it to Los Angeles, gaining points so they can participate more easily in the Spring Split will be a priority, and they are capable of a tournament-shaking upset.
Group B - FaZe Clan, Team Envy, Rogue, Allmid
FaZe Clan headline Group B as North America’s current three seed, and they’ll be looking to wrap up the group to clinch their Winter Major spot. However, Team Envy and Rogue are both still alive, and will look to spoil FaZe Clan’s dreams of Los Angeles. They’ve been improving every split since adding dreaz and aqua, respectively, and will look to go even further. Rogue has the easiest path of any team who needs help, only needing a couple of results to go their way if they can take the crown. However, Team Envy is looking at a difficult run, needing a win and several scenarios. Team Envy is also completely eliminated if they finish outside the top three, so winning the group would buoy their chances. Rogue is eliminated no matter what if they fail to make it out of Friday, which would mean winning the group or winning their first playoff game if they finish second or third. Allmid is in a similar situation to Randoms, meaning they can’t make the major but will still have motivation to perform.
Group C - G2 Esports, Oxygen Esports, Susquehanna Soniqs, Charlotte Phoenix
Group C features North America’s reigning champions and winners of two of the three previous events in G2 Esports. They’ll be looking to wrap up the group to clinch a major spot, but this group is the only one with all four teams still in major contention, so it will be a tough task. Oxygen Esports has been a surprise contender since adding Gimmick in the trade window, and can clinch a spot with a win. Winning the group would be a massive step towards that, so they’ll be looking to knock off G2 Esports and take it home. However, Susquehanna Soniqs and Charlotte Phoenix are both still alive to go to Los Angeles. The Soniqs need to at least reach the Grand Finals and get help in order to qualify, and Charlotte Phoenix needs a win and help. Both teams have put in strong showings at various points throughout the season, and are capable of producing the results they need if they put it all together. Group C promises to be highly competitive, as the four talented teams all vie for major berths.
Group D - Spacestation Gaming, Complexity Gaming, XSET, Torrent
Spacestation Gaming and Complexity Gaming will face off for the second time since their Fall Major qualification play-off to headline the group. Last time, Spacestation Gaming took a dominant 3-1 win as they topped the group and Complexity fell out 0-3 in the group stage. Flipping that result would be huge for Complexity as they look to qualify for the major, needing a top three finish and help along the way. If the group breaks Spacestation Gaming’s way again, they’ll be clinching a spot at the Winter Major. XSET are also still in contention, similarly needing to finish top three in the event. They were in contention for the Fall Major in the third event also, but fell short. They’ll be looking to turn it around, and finish the job this time. Torrent finishes out the group, as they return to the RLCS after missing out on the Rocket League 351. Though they’ve been eliminated from major contention, they are capable of spoiling somebody else’s dreams and hope to gain more points to return to the RLCS in the Spring Split.
The mountain
Following the relatively recent retirement of the face of early Rocket League, Kronovi aka The Mountain, the Rocket League Esports team named this event the Mobil 1 Mountain Classic. While it could be simply named to honor one of the game’s true legends, look out for more ties to Kronovi throughout the weekend. He could appear on the desk, or there could be a large tribute throughout. With Kronovi being one of the most prolific RLCS players of all time, something more special to honor him would certainly be appropriate. Watch all sixteen teams compete under the banner of The Mountain this weekend, beginning Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at 1 p.m. EST! Team steams will be supplementing the main broadcast on Friday, but there is always going to be action at twitch.tv/rocketleague!
