Spring Major Recap
The Spring Major in London was billed as the greatest collection of Rocket League talent the world has ever seen, the most competitive event ever. The matches certainly lived up to the hype, as fans were treated to an RLCS record six Game 7s, and the first ever non-NA/EU team to reach the grand finals of an RLCS LAN in Team Falcons.
It was Moist Esports, however, who stole the show, winning a home LAN for Europe. They completed the run that they could not in the Winter Major, winning seven straight series after dropping to the lower bracket. Their superstar player Joyo took home the Spring Major MVP award, while teammate vatira took home the Defensive MVP and Team Falcons star Ahmad won Offensive MVP.
Moist Esports celebrating a victory together (photo: Martin Faltus / @imfalty)
Early Favorites Go Crashing Out
While Moist Esports and Team Falcons were two of the favorites entering the event, three of the other top five failed to play in front of the crowd. Team BDS had the most shocking downfall of all, as the Fall Major champions and Europe’s #1 seed failed to win a single game. They were swept by a pair of upstart teams in Team Secret and Pioneers, who will both be looking to make a statement for their regions in the World Championship.
North America failed to repeat its strong showing from the Winter Major, with only one team in the top four. This was certainly helped by G2 Esports and FaZe Clan, North America’s top two teams, finishing 12th-9th in the event. G2 Esports, the Winter Major champions, started strong with a sweep of Gaimin Gladiatiors, but were then shockingly reverse-swept by Karmine Corp and Team Liquid to go out early. FaZe Clan faced a difficult bracket, losing to Team Falcons and Furia Esports, the two best minor region teams in the world and two of the top six teams in the world.
With three of the favorites going home early, that opened the door for new teams to step up. Version1 had an incredible top three finish, losing only to the two grand finalists. Karmine Corp also went on a stellar run to the top four, highlighted by beating G2 Esports and FURIA Esports, both on Champions Field. Spacestation Gaming also put in a strong performance, also only losing to Team Falcons and Moist Esports. Both losses came in one goal games in game seven, and no team has come closer to success than Spacestation Gaming over the past two Majors.
OpTic Gaming and Team Liquid both had successful runs to the top eight and experienced playing in front of the crowd, while Endpoint CeX and PWR joined Team BDS and Gaimin Gladiators in failing to win a game, dropping out 0-2 via sweep in both losses.
Implications For Worlds
Throughout the three Majors this season, teams were competing not only for themselves but for their regions. The top eight seeds, based on the performance from each region, earn a direct berth to the World Championship Main Event.. This season, three North American teams, three European teams, and one each from Middle East & North Africa and South America earned those seeds.
That means that G2 Esports, FaZe Clan, The General NRG, Moist Esports, Team BDS, Endpoint CeX, FURIA Esports, and Team Falcons will all be seeded directly into the main event. The success of these teams also means that more teams from their region overall will be in Dallas, as the total is now six North American & European Teams, three each from MENA and South America, two each from Oceania and Sub-Saharan Africa, and one from each Asia-Pacific region will be participating, including both the Wildcard and Main Event.
After the biggest ever season of the RLCS, there’s only one thing left to do: crown a World Champion. Three different teams won Majors this season, with Europe taking two to North America’s one in the historic rivalry. Each team won on home soil, however, and the World Championship will be in Dallas, Texas. MENA and South America are proving that Rocket League is not a two region esport anymore, and Sub-Saharan Africa will make their international debut at the World Championship. As exciting as the Spring Major was, it promises to look like a typical regional event compared to what will go down in Dallas.
