Tour de Rocket League Preview
The European RLCS returns for its second event of the season, as sixteen of the top teams from the region will compete for vital rankings points towards the Spring Major in London and the World Championship in Dallas. The Tour de Rocket League will be a brutal double-elimination tournament, where even one mistake can send a top team home. Europe’s depth was on full display last time out, as only two teams from the Winter Major finished higher than twelfth in the bracket. Those two teams were Team BDS and Moist Esports, who met in both the upper bracket finals and the grand finals. Team BDS won both, and took home the Dacia Spring Cup crown.
Sustainable Success?
The top eight in the Dacia Spring Cup was chock full of surprises, except for the top two. Finishing right behind Team BDS and Moist Esports was Solary, a new roster which came all the way from the open qualifiers to securing a top three spot. The team also won the offseason Dacia Electric Spring Tournament, so the result was no fluke. Solary have a chance to cement themselves as a true contender with another strong performance. Solary beat Team Vitality in the lower semifinal, sending the new Team Vitality roster to a fourth place finish. In their first event together, the team had its best result since the second regional of the Fall Split, and are currently in a good spot to return to a LAN event in London.
Taking the fifth-sixth spots were Karmine Corp and Misfits Gaming. The two rosters both had sky-high expectations entering the season, but have fallen short until now. Both bombed out at the end of the Fall Split with a chance to make the Major in Stockholm, and Misfits Gaming repeated the performance in the Winter Split. Karmine Corp were fully out of contention in the Winter Split, failing to put together a single successful event. As such, they made a roster change, and saw the move pay immediate dividends as noly led them to their best finish since the first event of the season.
Right behind those two rosters were Team Liquid and SMPR Esports. Team Liquid made their RLCS debut this season, and their two young stars Oski and Atow both made their overall RLCS debuts. The result was highly promising for the roster, as they are young and built for future success. SMPR Esports, much like Team Vitality, qualified for the Fall Major before struggling through the Winter Split. They lost star player archie to Endpoint CeX, but signed Exotiik in his place, and put themselves in a decent position to make another Major this season.
If any of these rosters can maintain their success from the last event - a tough task in a region as deep as Europe - they can put themselves in a strong position to qualify for the Spring Major in London, and potentially the World Championship.
The Bracket
(image courtesy of Rocket League Esports)
Moist Esports vs. Aogiri
Moist Esports have made five consecutive grand finals, a feat unmatched in the RLCS. They’ll be looking for a sixth straight, and their first win after two consecutive second place finishes, in the Tour de Rocket League. The first opponent on their docket is Aogiri, making their RLCS debut this season. VKSailen and Oscillon both have RLCS experience, but their third teammate, Stizzy, will be making his RLCS debut.
Team Vitality vs. Solary
A rematch of the lower semifinal from last time out, two contending rosters will meet in the first round in this matchup. Both rosters are looking to make a push for the Spring Major, and the winner of this will certainly have a leg up in the race for London. Either team is capable of making a long lower bracket run after a loss, however, so don’t count the loser out.
Evil Geniuses vs. Team Liquid
Another rematch, this time from the first round of the Dacia Spring Cup. Team Liquid took a thrilling 3-2 victory, and Evil Geniuses never recovered on their way to a last place finish. Team Liquid will only be better, having gained experience for their young roster, so it will be up to Evil Geniuses to bounce back and prove that they’re still among Europe’s best.
Dignitas vs. 00 Nation DNB
Dignitas struggled in their last event, but the result was mired in tragedy as star player ApparentlyJack lost a good friend during the event. As he so well put it, some things are bigger than Rocket League, and we at Shift would like to again offer our condolences to Jack. Dignitas will be looking for a stronger result, however, to make it to their third consecutive Major and lock up a berth in Dallas. 00 Nation DNB missed out on an event for the first time this season in the Dacia Spring Cup, and will be looking to bounce back.
Team BDS vs. Natus Vincere
The reigning regional champions Team BDS looked essentially unstoppable with Seikoo joining the roster, and they’ll be looking to add a third regional crown to their cabinet. Only G2 Esports have more in the major regions, and Team BDS three overall wins (including the Fall Major) also rank second to only G2 Esports. Their first opponents are Natus Vincere, who are back in the RLCS after missing out on the Dacia Spring Cup.
Luminosity Gaming vs. SMPR Esports
Luminosity Gaming’s kryptonite this season has been Team BDS, as they’ve met in all four events that Luminosity Gaming has played with their current roster. Luminosity Gaming have only taken the victory twice, with both coming in the third event of the Winter Split. However, they’ll have to beat a strong SMPR Esports side first if they want their chance at revenge. SMPR Esports put themselves in striking distance of the Spring Major last time out, and still sit fifth in Europe, a spot which should be good enough to make it to the World Championship.
Endpoint CeX vs. Guild Esports
Endpoint CeX have qualified for both Majors this season, one of only three teams in Europe to pull off the feat. However, they lost their superstar player Seikoo during the trade window. While archie is certainly a capable replacement, the roster will need more time to gel. They’ll be looking to step up if they want to make it three straight Majors, but first they face Guild Esports. Guild Esports had a strong Winter Split, but replaced noly with Dorito and subsequently failed to qualify for the Dacia Spring Cup. The roster will be hoping for a strong effort in their first RLCS event together.
Karmine Corp vs. Misfits Gaming
The two fifth-sixth finishers from the Dacia Spring Cup, this is a matchup of two rosters who have struggled this season to meet their high expectations. Neither has made a Major yet, but are the top two teams in the rankings with that unenviable distinction. Both are in striking distance of a World Championship spot if they can get to the Spring Major, but they’ll have to get through each other in this event to do it.
Make sure to tune into the Tour de Rocket League this weekend, beginning at 4pm CET (11am EDT) Friday - Sunday. Europe’s striking depth means no result is guaranteed, and there are as many as a dozen teams looking to make a push for the Spring Major and the World Championship. Team streams on Friday will supplement the main channel, which covers every match all weekend at twitch.tv/rocketleague.
