Super 16 Preview

The regular season of the RLCS concludes this weekend for both Europe and the entire world with the Super 16. Every region besides Europe has already decided their Spring Major representatives, and most of their World Championship spots. In Europe, only one team has clinched a spot in London: Team BDS. Team BDS and Moist Esports are the only two to have secured their spots in Dallas so far as well. Last time out, Team BDS took their second consecutive regional win. They have yet to lose a series since signing Seikoo, and will be looking to complete history with a win in the Super 16. No team in Europe or North America has ever swept an entire split by winning all three events. G2 Esports’ bid to be first fell just short last week, as they lost in a game seven overtime.

Reaching a Home Major

(image courtesy of Rocket League Esports)

Since the debut of international majors in the Fall Split, a home team has won both. Team BDS held serve and won the Fall Major in Stockholm, Sweden, while G2 Esports took the international crown in Los Angeles. With the Spring Major set to be in London, European teams will have the edge of the home crowd. Last time the RLCS was in London, Dignitas won the Season 5 World Championship (despite some famous heroics from Jstn). With 12 teams still alive for the four remaining spots in London, each will be highly motivated to qualify and have a chance at winning international glory.

Five of the twelve teams control their own destiny. Solary and Team Vitality both need a win to qualify for London, while Team Liquid and Karmine Corp both need a top three finish. Moist Esports will qualify with a top six finish, meaning two wins to open the tournament would see them through. Moist Esports will be hungry to return to a LAN event, as they finished the Winter Major only two wins away from achieving victory in their LAN debuts. Karmine Corp have struggled throughout the season after opening it as contenders, but reaching a Spring Major spot could see them put that all behind them and have a shot to win the World Championship.

Team Liquid essentially have no chance at the World Championship, as they made their RLCS debut just in the Spring Split. A berth in London would provide valuable experience to the young roster, however, and cement them as contenders for the foreseeable future in the RLCS. Solary also have essentially no chance to make it to Dallas, also having debuted as a roster this Split, but could also use the valuable experience of a live event. Team Vitality will be looking to return to the mountaintop after a disappointing Winter Split, as they have the pedigree and skill to make a run in both London and Dallas.

SMPR Esports, Endpoint CeX, Luminosity Gaming, Misfits Gaming, Dignitas, Evil Geniuses, and Guild Esports are all also still alive, but would need help to clinch even with a win in the Super 16. Luminosity Gaming, Misfits Gaming, and Guild Esports would all make their LAN debuts if they can qualify, but are long shots. SMPR Esports and Evil Geniuses would all appear in their second live events of the season, and give themselves a chance to secure World Championship spots. Dignitas and Endpoint CeX would both have qualified for all three Majors this season if they make it to London, and both would wrap up spots in Dallas if they both qualify for London and SMPR Esports do not.

The Bracket

Moist Esports vs. GROS NOOBZ

Moist Esports will be looking to start the tournament with a bang, as two consecutive wins on the opening day would see them secure a spot in London early. Their streak of five consecutive grand finals appearances (a European/North American high for the season) was snapped last time out, but they are still among Europe’s truly elite. Their first opponents will be GROS NOOBZ, making their season debut in the RLCS.

Solary vs. Team Vitality

Solary and Team Vitality, who both need an event win to clinch a spot in London, meet in the first round for the second consecutive event. They also met in the first event of the Split, and have split their two meetings so far. Team Vitality won last time out, though both rosters finished tied for twelfth place.

Evil Geniuses vs. Guild Esports

Evil Geniuses have had the most difficult Spring Split of nearly any team in the world, as they have only won a single series so far. They won two series at the Winter Major, but are now in danger of losing their spot at a World Championship. They’ll be looking to bounce back against Guild Esports, who need to qualify for London to have any chance of making it to the World Championship.

Team Liquid vs. Misfits Gaming

Team Liquid only lost to Team BDS last time out, and showed growth in their second ever event. The young superstars will be looking to make it London to gain valuable experience, while Misfits Gaming would have a chance to make it to Dallas with qualification for London. In each of the two previous Splits, Misfits Gaming had strong chances to qualify for the Majors before losing out in the final event. This time, they’ll be looking to avoid a similar result.

Team BDS vs. Juicers

Team BDS will be chasing history in this event, but also qualification directly to the main event of the World Championship. They’d be the third team to secure such a spot, but need to outperform Moist Esports by 80 points in this event (or see Moist Esports fail to qualify for London). Their first opponents in Juicers may be making their RLCS debut for the season, but aren’t to be taken lightly. They finished among Europe’s top four teams in the Gamers Without Borders tournament, qualifying for the biggest LAN in history. They are the new kids on the block, but are every bit as dangerous as Europe’s best.

Dignitas vs. SMPR Esports

Dignitas and SMPR Esports are both desperate to regain their form from early in the season and qualify for London, but stand in each other’s way of qualification. The two looked to be forming a budding rivalry early in the season, as they met four times in the Fall Split, with Dignitas taking the first three but SMPR Esports knocking Dignitas out of the Fall Major playoffs. Instead, this is their first meeting since that epic seven game series, with higher stakes than ever before.

Endpoint CeX vs. Aogiri

Endpoint CeX were Europe’s best regional team in the early part of the season, winning two of three events, but haven’t picked up a win since. Now, their best player during that time, Seikoo, is dominating with Team BDS, and they’re struggling to regain that form. The team showed progress with archie last time out, however, and will be hungry to make it three-for-three on Major qualification. Their opponents, Aogiri, are in their second consecutive event after making their RLCS debuts last time out.

Karmine Corp vs. Luminosity Gaming

Two teams marked as contenders that have struggled to meet expectations, Karmine Corp and Luminosity Gaming meet in the first round of the Super 16. Karmine Corp have finally fulfilled their potential this split, however, and are on the verge of qualifying for London and stealing a spot in Dallas. Luminosity Gaming are long shots to make either, but are still in the running.

The regular season of the RLCS concludes with the Super 16 this weekend, beginning at 4pm CET (11am EDT) Friday - Sunday. With Spring Major and World Championship spots on the line, every match matters. Those spots will all be decided this weekend, except for some spots in Dallas which will be decided in the Spring Major. Team streams on Friday will supplement the main channel, which covers every match all weekend long at twitch.tv/rocketleague.