Tour de Rocket League Recap
Back to Back for Team BDS
For the first time this season, a back to back champion has emerged in Europe. Team BDS has been the best team in Europe since acquiring Seikoo during the trade window, and they have yet to drop even a single series. They’ve only been pushed to a decisive game five or game seven twice, and won both. Team BDS also only lost five games this time out, as compared to six games in the Dacia Spring Cup. They’ve swept back-to-back grand finals, and join G2 Esports as the only team with three or more regional wins in the major regions. The two teams have both won back-to-back events, and are the only two in the world to win an international major.
As Team BDS starts a new streak, winning two straight events, another comes to an end. Moist Esports’ run of making it to five consecutive grand finals was snapped when they were perfect swept by Team Liquid in the upper bracket, and lost to Karmine Corp in the lower semifinals. The result (fourth place) should still be good enough to get the team to London, where they would still be among the favorites.
(image courtesy of Rocket League Esports)
Looking to London
The ultimate goal of the Spring Split for any team is to qualify for the Spring Major in London. Team BDS became the first team in Europe, and second in the world, to lock up their spot. That leaves the other four spots still available, and thirteen teams are still alive in the race. At the top of the rankings - excluding BDS - are Moist Esports, a familiar face as Europe’s most consistent team over the last two splits. But right behind Moist Esports, occupying the rest of the Major spots, are some serious surprises.
One of those surprises is Team Liquid, the collection of young superstars meant for the future. Team Liquid signed Oski and Atow before the Winter Split, though neither was eligible for RLCS competition until the Spring Split began. Now, in their first split (and Team Liquid’s first with Acronik), they’ve taken Europe by storm. They finished second in the Tour de Rocket League, and their performances only got better as they gained more experience. Moist Esports showed that rookies can make their marks at LAN events, so if Team Liquid can finish the job and qualify, they may be true contenders in London. They currently sit in third for Europe’s Spring Split rankings.
Solary are also making their debut as a roster this split, and currently sit fifth in the rankings. They made it as far as third in the Dacia Spring Cup, but struggled with a difficult bracket in the Tour de Rocket League. They lost their opening match to Team Vitality, and beat Aogiri before falling to two-time Major qualifiers Endpoint CeX. The team is still among Europe’s best, but they will need to play like it in the final event to make it to London.
Karmine Corp occupy the last remaining spot, fourth in the rankings, which is a strong improvement from their previous two splits. They picked up noly from Guild Esports, and the result has paid serious dividends. They entered the season with high expectations, but failed to live up to them, finishing seventh in the European rankings in both the Fall and Winter Splits. Now, with noly on the roster, they’ve had their two best results of the entire season, and are in prime position to make it to London. If they can string together two good results in the third regional and the Spring Major, they could even pass Evil Geniuses or SMPR Esports and make it to the World Championship in Dallas.
(image courtesy of Rocket League Esports)
Struggling Contenders
With so many surprise teams occupying spots for the Major, teams who have contended previously are in danger of missing out. Dignitas and Endpoint CeX are two of the three teams from Europe to have qualified for both Majors so far, and both are struggling to put it together. Neither has finished better than sixth so far this split, and both will be desperate for a win to make sure they can qualify.
Team Vitality, SMPR Esports, and Evil Geniuses have all qualified for one Major this season. SMPR Esports still sit sixth in the overall rankings and have a good chance at a World Championship berth, but are on the outside looking in for the Spring Major. If they can clinch a top four result in the third event, they should be able to qualify for both London and Dallas. Team Vitality struggled so badly in the Winter Split that they’re currently eighth in the European standings. If they can’t make it to London, they’ll certainly be out of the running for a World Championship.
Evil Geniuses are hurting the most of any roster after the Dacia Spring Cup and Tour de Rocket League. They’ve only picked up one win through the first two events, and are in serious danger of being passed by Karmine Corp for a World Championship spot. Evil Geniuses missed out on the Fall Major on the final day, and finished better than all but one European rival at the Winter Major. Despite those two results, they’re now in danger of missing out on the World Championships altogether. They have almost no chance of qualifying for London, even with a win in the third event, but will still need a good result if they want to hold onto their place in Dallas.
Misfits Gaming and Luminosity Gaming have both been marked by fans as contenders this season, and both have come up disappointingly short. In the first two splits, Misfits Gaming looked sure to qualify for the Majors before failing to win a single event in the third regional of either split. Luminosity Gaming had run into difficult brackets, facing Team BDS in each of their first four events. This time out, however, they didn’t even make it to a matchup with Europe’s best team. They lost in the first round, before beating Natus Vincere and Dignitas on their way to an eighth place finish. They simply haven’t clicked enough to make a serious splash this season.
Europe’s spots for the Spring Major (and World Championship) are hotly contested, and the results in the Tour de Rocket League further added to the congestion. In two weeks, these critical spots will be decided. Before that, North America will decide their Spring Major contestants next week in the newly announced Nissan Classic. Make sure to keep up with Shift for all your RLCS news until then!
