While many of the bubble EU RLCS teams are showing poise, making deeper bracket runs than ever before (Karmine, Guild, Luminosity), it is the EU greats that remain blockading any entrance into the top 4. RLCS Regional Event 3 provided a host of dramatic finishes and heartbreaks as some teams competed for seeding, while others fought for just a spot to the Winter Major; taking place at the Youtuber Theatre in Los Angeles, CA, March 23rd-27nth. See who made it and how they did it below!
Karmine Corp finally displayed the dominance many assumed they would have at the start of the season – although a 3-0 victory with 3 overtimes still got our heart rates up. BDS, coming off an already shaky group stage, fall in lower bracket round 1. Again proving that Europe’s Rocket League scene is about as unpredictable as a platinum’s rotation.
Kuxir’s Minions ends their run together as the roster of Kuxir97, Rxii, and Growlii record a lower bracket lost to Evil Geniuses. Heartbreaking to see the Rocket League legend come so close to the spotlight again but ultimately fall just short.
Guild continues their improvement in Europe with a decisive 3-1 victory over Semper. Semper, a former top 4 team in the region, now sits at 11nth; many including myself are wondering if this might spell the end of Kassio, archie, and Chausette45’s time on the pitch together.
Fellow RLCS leader Team Queso also looked questionable going into the lower bracket and remained inconsistent into their first match with William’s Resolve. However unlike BDS, Queso reverse swept to just squeak out a win and keep their hopes of another regional victory alive.
Luminosity’s command of the group stages – recording a neat 2-1 victory against BDS, Kuxir’s Minions, and another tiebreaker win over BDS – did not transfer well to the bracket as Endpoint swept them 4-0 in the Upper Semi’s. Despite the scoreline, each game remained anxiously close with only one goal separating the pair.
If you want to see what it looks like when a top-tier RLCS team has fun, go watch the Dignitas v 00Nation game. Dignitas took light-hearted control over the series with a 4-0 sweep; I say light-hearted because the players were smiling and seemingly enjoying themselves despite the pressure. Luckily in most cases when pros are having fun, they play better. And watching Joreuz just go to town on 00Nation, I can’t imagine anything more satisfying.
It takes an abundance of expertise, intelligence, and mental strength to consistently lead your team to victory. Despite this, Seiko performs to the top of his ability so regularly he makes it look like cakewalk. This guy is unbelievable; he regularly forces his name into the conversation of best players in the world. That’s it, that’s my analysis, it’s Seiko being insane and guiding his team to a win over Dignitas who didn’t look nearly as strong as the day prior.
Evil Genuises sent a strong message to the team of noly, Deevo and crr in Lower Bracket Round 2. Guild’s hopes at further improvement and deeper bracket runs were therefore unfortunately cut short.
Karmine Corp then went head-to-head against Winter Major frontrunners Team Queso. Again they appeared much more put together, displaying a chemistry, aggressiveness, and skill ceiling so far unseen for the mechanically heavy trio of Aztral, itachi and Stake. It wasn’t enough. Team Queso clench a nail-biting win over Karmine to advance.
Queso was back in form for the Lower Bracket Quarter finals, though it didn’t appear so at the start. 00Nation, a team with so much talent and depth but no results to show for it, started wondrously with a 3-0 win in game one. However, Queso is simply a better team, and ended the battle right as it began with 4 victories in a row. Rise remains, in my opinion, one of the smartest players in the world.
In a virtual battle for an in-person LAN, Evil Geniuses squared off against Luminosity; two teams with painstakingly equal talent and poise. If Luminosity won, they would have needed a second-place finish to join their counterparts in California. Unfortunately for them, and fortunately for EG, they will not be heading to the promise land as EG win on Champion’s field to secure there spot at the major.
Team Queso continues their terror over the EU region, blowing out Dignitas who again appear sluggish on the day. Joyo hit a nasty goal that you would expect from a freestyle 1v1, so go check that out. Dignitas again fail to see a championship.
For the first time this split the bracket is reset after Queso takes the first series following their dominance over Dignitas. Queso racked up a quick 3-1 game differential in the first series, however, Endpoint weren’t so ready to lose. They took a much-needed timeout, which I have to admit, looks like a lot of fun over in Endpoint HQ. Then bounce back two games to send it to a tiebreaker game 7. Queso won a marginal 2-1 victory to enter another round of 7, where they proceeded to close it out 4-2. Queso did well to put all the haters in their place as they are undoubtedly the best team in Europe coming off another regional win. They enter the major one of a few favorites, alongside BDS, Dignitas, and NRG.
Here are your current standings… the top 5 teams listed below will be heading to California at the end of March to face off in the Winter Major. Noticeable seeding discrepancies, with BDS at the 3rd seed a few teams are going to be very unlucky in groups, EG clutched it out in this regional to just beat out Luminosity for the LAN spot, and Endpoint is still in the conversation but much less so than last major. March is sure to shake up some European power rankings.
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