North America Fall Open Preview
After nearly two months away, and the most incredible rostermania we’ve ever seen, the RLCS is finally back this weekend! The North American Fall Open kicks off the year, as 16 qualified teams compete in a Swiss Stage and an eight-team single elimination bracket to crown our first champion of the year. Last season, G2 Esports won four Regionals, FaZe Clan and The General NRG each won two, and Version1 took one event.
Familiar Faces in New Places
Three of the four victorious teams from last season have the same rosters entering this season, but FaZe Clan have signed Nick "mist" Costello to replace Austin "AYYJAYY" Aebi. AYYJAYY is now on OpTic Gaming, alongside Slater "Retals" Thomas and Christian "MajicBear" Acevedo. Logan "Lj." Wilt took Retals’ spot on Spacestation Gaming, and Complexity Gaming brought Cristian "crr" Fernandez across the pond to round out their roster. Gen.G Mobil1 Racing entered the scene, as they also brought Jack "ApparentlyJack" Benton and Joseph "noly" Kidd over from across the pond to team with Nick "Chronic" Iwanski.
Dignitas and Luminosity Gaming dropped their European teams and picked up new North American ones, while North American staples Rogue, Shopify Rebellion, Pittsburgh Knights, and Team AXLE all qualified. We have our first bubble team of the season in Sol, who qualified over Darkzero (four-time World Champion Pierre "Turbopulsa" Silfver’s new team).
Oh, and World Championship semi-finalists FURIA moved to North America. They’ve shown what they can do in South America and at international LANs, and they’re ready to take on another region.
Swiss Stage Round One
Spacestation Gaming vs Sol
Spacestation Gaming were the dominant force in the Invitational Qualifier, going a perfect 9-0 against difficult competition. As their young superstar Daniel "Daniel" Piecenski enters his second season, they could only get better. Sol went on a shock run through the qualifiers, and enter the tournament as the sixteenth seed.
Version1 vs Team AXLE
Version1 went 3-0 in the Invitational Qualifier, and enter the event as the second seed. This same roster finished top-eight at the World Championship last season, and are looking to build on that success. Team AXLE fell out of the Invitational Qualifier, but bounced back in the Closed Qualifier to make it to the Fall Open.
G2 Esports vs Luminosity Gaming
G2 Esports were the inarguable best team in North America last season, winning the most events and finishing first in the standings by a large margin. They won the Winter Major, and finished runners-up at the World Championship. They still have reigning North American MVP Massimo "Atomic" Franceschi on the team, and could be even better this season. Luminosity Gaming went 0-3 in the Invitational Qualifier, but qualified through the Closed Qualifier with a 3-2 record.
Complexity Gaming vs FURIA
The most intriguing storyline of the first round is the battle of South American transfers (and one European): Complexity Gaming vs FURIA. Complexity Gaming laid the grounds for FURIA’s transfer this offseason, as they made the move last year and immediately found success, qualifying for the Fall Major. Complexity Gaming never had the international success that Furia did, though. The Brazilians finished top six at three consecutive international RLCS events, and won the Gamers8 LAN. They struggled in their introduction to North America, however, dropping out of the Invitational Qualifier by going 2-3.
OpTic Gaming vs Pittsburgh Knights
Despite finishing in the top sixteen of the World Championship last season, OpTic Gaming have picked up an entirely new roster for this season. The early results have been promising, as they went 3-1 in the Invitational Qualifier and looked very strong. Pittsburgh Knights put on a strong showing in the Closed Qualifier, going 3-1.
FaZe Clan vs Gen.G Mobil1 Racing
FaZe Clan were World Championship semi-finalists last year, and look to get over the hump with their signing of mist. They have yet to win an international event, or even reach an international Grand Final, but finished in the top four of a LAN three times last season. If they can synergize the new roster, they could surpass G2 Esports as the top team in the region. Gen.G Mobil1 Racing have been searching to get into the scene for quite some time now, and finally have their roster. They struggled in the Invitational Qualifier, going 0-3, but look to have found their groove in the Closed Qualifier.
Rogue vs Shopify Rebellion
Rogue were consistently on the verge of contending last season, but could never seem to break through. As their young prodigy Christopher "Aqua" Campbell continues to improve with experience, they may be able to push through into Major contention. Their first round opponents are Shopify Rebellion, who went 3-0 in the Closed Qualifier, and were (somewhat shockingly) the first team seeded outside of the Invitational Qualifier. They now have a chance to show what they can do in the first main event of the season.
Dignitas vs NRG
It’s a historic Rocket League rivalry, but this time in a North American Regional. Dignitas and The General NRG competed head to head for a World Championship in Season 5, the middle of three straight World Championship Grand Finals appearances for that legendary Dignitas team. Now, the two face off in the first round of the Fall Open, as The General NRG look to bounce back from a difficult end to the 2021-22 season and Dignitas look to stake their claim in North America.
Matches start at 12 p.m. EDT tomorrow (4 p.m. UTC) on team streams! Matches 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!
