How Far Can BDS Go With Extra?

Just over a month ago, Team BDS found themselves in a bit of a pickle. Following their promotion from the Rival Series thanks to a first-place finish in League Play, they had just removed Alejandro “ClayX” Carbonero from their roster. The removal of a player from a recently-promoted roster has already happened before, with its most notable occurrence being Daniel “Aeon” Dunfee’s controversial departure from RBG Esports, and many were quick to criticise his teammates’ decision. However, it took just under a month for BDS to prove any doubters wrong as they took home Lethamyr’s Eurocup 10K with wins over RLCS sides FC Barcelona, Dignitas and mousesports (twice). ClayX’s replacement for the Eurocup? Meet Alex “Extra” Paoli.

After a strong first season in the RLRS on Baguette Squad, Extra was picked up by veterans EyeIgnite and Tigreee on Fadeaway, who would go on to be signed by French football club AS Monaco midway through the season. A victory over Discombobulators (now Endpoint) sent the trio to the RLCS at the first time of asking, with Alex wowing many with some dominant performances throughout the season.

Extra didn’t stop there either. Despite Monaco’s abysmal 0-9 record in their debut Championship Series season and subsequent relegation back to the second tier, Extra often provided a glimmer of hope for his team with some dazzling goals, particularly in their opening outing against mousesports. When Monaco disbanded, it was assumed by many that Alex would find himself back in the RLCS before long.

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Once ClayX was gone, Marc “MaRc_By_8.” Domingo and Evan “M0nkey M00n” Rogez initially looked to benched Endpoint third Nacho “Nachitow” Giminez, with whom they played in the qualifiers for Johnnyboi_i’s Fusion qualifiers. Despite winning all but one of their 3v3 matches, they found themselves missing out on the main event by one series after Rogez was defeated by Dignitas’ Joreuz.  Nachitow was soon replaced by Extra, with the Frenchman’s tryout being the aforementioned Eurocup qualifiers. 

Despite some nervy matchups earlier on in the bracket, BDS took down Top Blokes (the former Veloce trio) to qualify through the upper bracket. The main event kicked off and they looked absolutely fantastic. Extra sent the team to another level, losing just one game in their first two series’ (both against top-four RLCS sides) and then seeing off mousesports not once, but twice, as they took home $4,000 and a new wave of confidence.

So, what’s next for BDS? Well, assuming something doesn’t go horribly wrong, Extra should find himself on the starting roster any day now, with the new-look side looking to establish themselves at the top of Europe’s RLCS sides. With Rocket Baguette’s Summer Grand Prix most likely featuring every Championship Series side, the €40,000 event is the Swiss organisation’s chance to prove that their Eurocup win was no fluke. It’s hard not to feel bad for ClayX. After all, he spent so many seasons toiling away to reach the RLCS only to have his chance snatched away from him. But it’s clear that Extra is the answer that BDS was looking for in order to reach new heights following their promotion earlier this year.

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Image via ZeeboDesigns