NA Fall Cup: Can FaZe Clan defend their title?
The North American RLCS resumes this weekend after two weeks with the Fall Cup. On Friday, 16 of North America’s top teams will face off in a Swiss Stage, which feeds into an eight-team single elimination Playoffs over the weekend. At stake are valuable RLCS points, and a potential spot in Rotterdam for the Fall Major. Additionally, the top 16 teams in points from the Fall Open and the Fall Cup will qualify for the Fall Invitational, which will be the last chance this Split for teams to gain points and reach Rotterdam.
Last Time Out
Last time out, in the Fall Open, FaZe Clan took the top spot after a dominant playoff run, which culminated in a Grand Finals victory over Gen.G Mobil1 Racing. FaZe Clan opened last season with a Regional victory before failing to even make the Playoffs in the second event, and will be hoping to avoid a similar result this season. If they can reach the Grand Finals again, regardless of other results, they’ll be the first team to clinch their spot in Rotterdam this season. Gen.G Mobil1 Racing can also clinch their spot without help if they win the Fall Cup, but both teams (and a few others) can clinch if other results break their way.
G2 Esports and Spacestation Gaming were both semi-finalists last time out, a spot from which 67% of teams reached the Fall Major in North America last season. Both teams went 3-0 in the Swiss Stage last time, and will be looking to make a deeper playoff run this go around. Joining them in the playoffs were FURIA, OpTic Gaming, Version1, and Shopify Rebellion, who will all be hunting for a strong result to secure their place in the standings and ultimately in Rotterdam.
NRG, Complexity Gaming, Dignitas, and Team AXLE all fell just short of Playoffs, finishing with at least one win but failing to reach the three needed. They’ve all qualified for the Fall Cup, and will be hoping to reach the Playoffs this time, otherwise they’ll be in danger of missing out on the Fall Major in Rotterdam.
First Round Swiss Matchups
Faze Clan vs Ghost Gaming
Reigning Regional champions FaZe Clan will open their title defense against Ghost Gaming, who have qualified for the Main Event for the first time this season. FaZe Clan will be looking to get out to a strong start to make sure they can reach the Grand Finals and clinch their spot in the Fall Major, while Ghost Gaming will be vying to make up lost time (and points) in the race to Rotterdam.
Gen.G Mobil1 Racing vs Nefarious
Gen.G Mobil1 Racing shocked North America with their run to the Grand Finals in the Fall Open, and will be looking to build on that to clinch their spot in Rotterdam. They started slow in the Swiss Stage last time out, losing their first match, and will be looking to start stronger this time. Nefarious are making their RLCS season debut, and are hoping to play the role of spoiler and get a win early to boost their chances of securing a spot in the Fall Invitational.
G2 Esports vs 26 RISING
G2 Esports opened last season with a 5th-8th finish before reaching the Grand Finals of the second event, and started even better this season with a 3rd-4th finish. They consistently performed better in the second Regional than the first last season, and that would mean at least a Grand Finals appearance this time. Doing so would likely see them clinch their spot in Rotterdam, or at the very least give them an incredibly strong chance. Their first opponents are 26 RISING, who suffered their only loss of the Closed Qualifier to NRG. They’ll be a dangerous, unknown opponent, who could get the jump on G2 Esports and come up with a first round stunner.
Spacestation Gaming vs Rogue
Spacestation Gaming missed out on the Fall Major last season after losing to Complexity Gaming in a tiebreaker, but they’ll be looking to rectify that this season. Only one player remains from that team, however, and they have yet to miss out on a LAN event with Daniel “Daniel” Piecenski on the roster. Rogue have been staples of the RLCS for several seasons, but failed to pick up a win in the Fall Open, and need to bounce back in incredible fashion to reach their first LAN event since the Season 7 World Championship.
The top ten North American teams by points from the Fall Open - Image courtesy of Psyonix
Shopify Rebellion vs Team AXLE
The surprise team of the Fall Open, Shopify Rebellion, are out to prove that their success wasn’t a fluke, and that they can reach the Major. To do so, they’ll likely need to reach at least the Playoffs again, if not the semifinals. Getting a high seed will be important for that, so they’ll need a fast start against Team AXLE. Team AXLE finished 1-3 last time, and have already locked up a spot in the Fall Invitational, but will be looking to improve on their 1-3 result.
Version1 vs Dignitas
Version1 are looking to get back on track, as they closed out last season by reaching the final three LAN events. They’re not in danger yet after a 5th-8th finish in the first Regional, but need a strong performance in the Fall Cup to stay out of danger. They open with Dignitas, who went 1-3 last time out but showed flashes of a strong performance. The winner of this will be in a strong position to reach the Playoffs, as 75% of teams starting 1-0 in the Fall Open reached the Playoffs.
OpTic Gaming vs Complexity Gaming
OpTic Gaming and Complexity Gaming met last time out in the best series of the Swiss Stage, as OpTic Gaming reverse-swept Complexity Gaming in the fifth round to reach the Playoffs and send Complexity Gaming home. The series was highlighted by an 8:57 overtime in Game Four, won by OpTic Gaming as they finally broke through. OpTic Gaming will be looking to reach the Playoffs again and push towards a Fall Major spot, while Complexity Gaming will be looking to avoid another 0-2 start as they try to climb the standings.
FURIA vs NRG
FURIA and NRG meet in the first round, their second meeting this season (and third including Qualifiers). FURIA took each of the first two series, including a fifth-round matchup last time out that went the distance. Both teams have a history of RLCS success, and will need to qualify for Rotterdam to continue that trend. FURIA need validation in their move to North America, while NRG are out to justify sticking together despite the turbulent end to last season. The matchup highlights the first round, due to both the implications and the talent on the pitch.
Matches start at 12 p.m. EDT Friday (4 p.m. UTC) on team streams and twitch.tv/rocketleague! The games will start at the same time Saturday and Sunday on twitch.tv/rocketleague, so make sure to watch all the action, and keep up with Shift for all of your RLCS news!
