Regional Preview: NA/MENA/SAM
G2 Esports after winning the Winter Major (photo: @ZeeboDesigns)
The largest World Championship in RLCS history is quickly approaching, and there are more teams and regions than there have ever been in an RLCS tournament. With 24 teams from 7 regions competing across a 10-day tournament, there will be 60 series of high level Rocket League. With all of that in mind, it’s hard to keep track of every team throughout the year. Here’s a breakdown of the teams from North America, Middle East & North Africa, and South America:
North America
Main Event Team(s)
G2 Esports, FaZe Clan, The General NRG
G2 Esports were the dominant team in North America this season, winning four of the nine events. They also were the only North American team to claim a Major title, winning the Winter Major in Los Angeles. The team had some early struggles in the Fall Split, but still won the final regional and qualified for the Fall Major. A disappointing run at the Fall Major, however, saw G2 Esports miss out on the playoffs and lead them to make a roster move.
They traded Andres “dreaz” Jordan for Massimo “Atomic” Franceschi, pairing the superstar with Reed “Chicago” Wilen and Jacob “JKnaps” Knapman. The move proved to be an incredible one, as G2 Esports won three of six regionals and one of two Majors with Atomic on the roster. They’re the top seed from North America entering the World Championship, and one of the favorites to win it all. Atomic was named North American MVP, as well as Winter Major MVP, showing his value to the team.
(image courtesy of Rocket League Esports)
FaZe Clan bookended the season with regional victories, winning only the first and final events of the season. In between, FaZe Clan finished third or fourth seven times in nine events, including the Fall and Winter Majors. Their remarkable consistency was the strong point of the team, but they could never break through for a victory until the end.
The team swapped out Braxton “Allushin” Lagarec for Caden “Sypical” Pellegrin after the Fall Major, filling out the roster alongside Jason “Firstkiller” Corral and Austin “AYYJAYY” Aebi. With the newfound confidence of winning an event, FaZe Clan are top contenders to win it all in Dallas, despite their disappointing showing at the Spring Major.
The General NRG were the premier team in North America for the first half of the season, but had very different results. The trio of Garrett “GarrettG” Gordon, Justin “jstn” Morales, and Mariano “SquishyMuffinz” Arruda entered the season fresh off of a North American Championship in RLCS X, and the favorites to dominate North America this season. They reached two Grand Finals and won one event in the Fall Split, before going on to be runners up at the Fall Major. The Winter Split was even better, as The General NRG reached the Grand Finals of all three events and won one.
Something shifted at the Winter Major, however, as the team fell out early in a shocking result. They never bounced back in the Spring Split, failing to qualify for the Spring Major. It was the first time in GarrettG’s storied career that he missed out on an RLCS LAN. The General NRG are the only team to enter the World Championship Main Event despite missing out on the Spring Major, and will need to find their early season form to have any hope of contending in Dallas.
Wildcard Teams
Version1, Spacestation Gaming, OpTic Gaming (formerly Team Envy)
Version1 started the season off slowly, laboring to an eighth place finish in the Fall Split, miles from the Fall Major. The team then brought in Landon “Beastmode” Konerman, however, and their fortunes changed. Beastmode’s offensive prowess, combined with Robert “Comm” Kyser’s abilities as a disruptor and Kyle “Torment” Storer’s defensive abilities, led Version1 to contender status.
They won their first event in the RLCS in the Winter Splti, and finished sixth in the Winter Major. The Spring Split featured slightly worse regional results, but a top three finish at the Spring Major where the team only lost to the two finalists. Despite beginning in the Wildcard, Version1 have emerged as true contenders to take the World Championship.
Version1’s Comm, with coach Fireburner behind (photo: Martin Faltus / @imfalty)
Spacestation Gaming are the highest ranked team in North America, and arguably the best team in the world, to not win an event this season. They came close multiple times, highlighted by Winter and Spring Major performances where their only losses were to the two finalists. Spacestation Gaming actually missed out on the Fall Major, losing a tiebreaker to Complexity Gaming, before signing young talent Daniel “Daniel” Piecenski to the roster.
Daniel has emerged as a superstar, and alongside Tshaka “Arsenal” Lateef Taylor Jr and Slater “retals” Thomas, has led Spacestation Gaming to new heights. If the team can close out the tight series against the world’s best, they can win it all.
OpTic Gaming had an up-and-down year. They qualified for the Fall Split with the trio of Atomic, Nick “mist” Costello, and Pierre “Turbopulsa” Silfver, but had a disappointing result in the event. They then executed the Atomic-dreaz trade, and brought in Allushin from FaZe Clan to be the coach. The results were disastrous, however, as the team finished tied ninth in the Winter Split. They finished no higher than eighth in any event of the Split.
As a result, they moved Allushin to the starting roster and Turbopulsa to the bench. The move paid dividends, as the new trio finished no worse than sixth in the Spring Split and had a top three finish as well. They surprised at the Spring Major, finishing in the top eight. If they can continue that form, OpTic Gaming can make it out of the Wildcard, and potentially even further.
Middle East & North Africa
Main Event Team(s)
Team Falcons (formerly Sandrock Gaming)
Team Falcons were the most dominant regional team this season, winning all nine events and only losing three series in total. The trio of Ahmad “Ahmad” Abdullah, Khalid “oKhalid” Qasim, and Mohammed “trk511” Alotaibi were truly unstoppable. trk511 was also named MENA MVP for his strong efforts throughout the season. Team Falcons were one of two teams from minor regions to qualify for all three Majors, though they could not participate with their full roster in the Fall or Winter Majors. Ahmed “Senzo” Ayed substituted for oKhalid in the Fall Major, where the team finished in the top eight. They had some incredible results, including a sweep of the favored G2 Esports.
In the Winter Major, the team had issues with their US visas, and were unable to participate. It wasn’t until the Spring Major, the final non-Worlds event of the season, that their full roster could play internationally. The results were incredible, as Team Falcons went all the way to the Grand Finals without a loss. They fell short against Moist Esports, but still proved themselves. They became the first team from a region other than North America or Europe to reach a Grand Finals of an RLCS event. Team Falcons proved that they’re certainly capable of winning it all.
Team Falcons competing at the Spring Major (photo: Martin Faltus / @imfalty)
Wildcard Teams
Veloce Esports (formerly Team Falcons), 01 Esports (formerly The Ultimates)
Veloce Esports were a great team throughout the season, finishing second in the Fall Split, fourth in the Winter, and third in the Spring. Unfortunately, MENA only had one Major spot in each of the three Splits, so the trio of Osama “Smw” Al-Humaidan, Mohammed “Twiz” Al-Saeed could not participate in international competition (the team participated in the first two splits with Yahya “Venom” Alghamdi instead of Senzo).
They were runners-up to Team Falcons twice throughout the season, and were also one of the three teams to defeat Team Falcons in a series. They have an opportunity to prove that the MENA region is more than a one team region, and that their victory over Team Falcons was no fluke.
01 Esports had a strong, consistent season in MENA. The trio of Fahad “Zez0nix” Ahmed, Abdullah “ams” Alsubaie, and Abdulmohsen “M7sN” Al-Khamis played the whole season together, finishing third in the Fall and Winter Splits and sixth in the Spring Split. Much like Veloce Esports, 01 Esports never qualified for international competition before the World Championship despite their strong showing.
The roster did, however, participate in the recent Gamers8 tournament, where they finished in the top eight and at one point won seven consecutive 3v3 games against RLCS competition including Dignitas and Renegades. If results like that can hold up in RLCS competition, 01 Esports can certainly make a run in Dallas.
South America
Main Event Team(s)
FURIA
FURIA are the only minor region team to participate in all three Majors this season, as only they and Team Falcons qualified for all three. FURIA put in incredible performances in the Winter and Spring Majors, reaching the top six of each event. Caio “CaioTG1” Vinicius, Gabriel “caard” Vieira Cardoso, and Yan “yanxnz” Xisto Nolasco dominated South America as well, winning six of the nine events and taking the #1 seed from the region in each split.
Their star player is yanxnz, who had a record-breaking performance at the Spring Major, scoring the most goals per game in an RLCS international event ever. yanxnz was also named South American MVP, as he led the region in goals per game and total score. Behind his play and their strong season to this point, FURIA are among the top contenders in Dallas.
(image courtesy of Rocket League Esports)
Wildcard Teams
Team Secret (formerly Noble esports), The Club (formerly Era Eternity)
Team Secret had a great season, qualifying for the Winter and Spring Majors and missing out on the Fall Major by only a single point. They won two of the three events not won by FURIA this season, and put in strong performances in the Majors they did qualify for. They swept Team BDS in the Spring Major, and gave G2 Esports a difficult test in the Winter Major.
The team began the season with Roberto “Sad” Lima de Souza, Olímpio “nxghtt” Torres, and Arthur “drufinho” Langsch Miguel, but drufinho was replaced by Matheus “math” Gonçalves before the Winter Split. The trio is among the youngest in the RLCS, so if they can continue to improve and build on their experience, they could make it at least past the Wildcard in Dallas.
The Club had a strong start to the season, beating out Team Secret for the Fall Major by a single point, which came by virtue of winning the lone event not won by Team Secret or FURIA. At the Fall Major, however, the team failed to win a single series, which started a difficult rest of the season for them. The team participated in the Fall Split with Luiz “Aztromick” Fellipe Lopes Gomes, André “snipjz” da Silva Mendonça, and math.
When math moved on to Team Secret, the team signed Danilo “kv1” Michelini to round out the team. Before the Spring Split, snipjz left, and Gabriel “Lostt” Buzon joined the team. The new trio of Aztromick, kv1, and Lostt finished third in South America in the Spring Split, and could be poised to make it out of the Wildcard if they can get past the pressure of their first international RLCS event.
Keep an eye out for the rest of the regions tomorrow, and make sure to keep up with Shift for all of your Rocket League news up to and throughout the World Championship!
