How The Rocket Baguette Summer Grand Prix Unfolded
The Rocket League Championships Series Season X (RLCS X) is within touching distance, with the lock-in deadline for rosters coming into effect on Saturday, June 25 (for RLCS Sides, a day prior for qualifier teams). With the clock running down, the Rocket Baguette’s Summer Grand Prix was the perfect platform for teams to showcase their skill and set a reminder as to who is Europe’s best.
With a $44,424 prize pool, and 50% going to the winners, this was one of the most hotly sought after prizes throughout the summer and offered a true reflection of how far teams had come in the off-season, and who was the most prepared for the upcoming season.
Reflecting on the Summer Grand Prix, we look over our predictions from the weekend, and the key storylines.
- The Preview: Rocket Baguette Summer Grand Prix
ALL EYES ARE ON THE UNPROVEN RISING STARS
The need for the young rising stars to step up is now more than ever. Joreuz, Itachi, Archie and M0nkey m00n all have the huge weight on their shoulders as they have to settle in quickly to propel their teams to the top, with their flamboyant stylistics and chic mechanics. Without a shred of RLCS experience between them all, this was the time to show that they are ready for the step up.
It was Itachi who came out the most impressive here as FC Barcelona advanced to the finals, falling to Oxygen just one game from the Grand Final. Barca and Itachi came up against some fierce competition in Oxygen, who they played thrice, alongside games versus Team Singularity twice and Team BDS. Getting on the scoreboard in most fixtures, the young Moroccan seems to have settled into the roster after weeks of training. Coming up with some key attacks to overcome and in-form Singularity, Itachi was a driving force all weekend, with Deevo and Ronaky excelling. Falling just short against the all-star Oxygen roster in their third match FCB look to be in a great position to build on their form and with more practice in defence and passing, they look the real deal.
On the other end of the spectrum, Top Blokes and Dignitas both went winless, with Joreuz and Archie unable to be the driving force needed. Neither side looked poor, rather looking inexperienced and unsettled against opposition ready for the new season. Dignitas fell in two Game 5’s versus Singularity and Oxygen respectively, leaving the reigning European champions scratching their heads as they packed away their controllers. Unfortunately for Top Blokes, they came victim to a Team Liquid who came flying out of the blocks in their first appearance in Rocket League esports and Team BDS with m0nkey m00n at the wheel.
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A RENAULT VITALITY VS OXYGEN FINAL?
I don’t want to brag because I called it, because it was quite an educated assumption. The two sides came into the Summer Grand Prix with the two most settled rosters, after AztraL joined Ferra and Chausette45 earlier this off-season. Vitality came in off the back of wins in the Spring Series and Fusion, and a third-place finish at The Eurocup 10K, looking to get their vengeance from Season 9.
The two look to be one step ahead of the rest of Europe, which led to an incredible Grand Final. Oxygen caused a bracket reset after winning the first best-of-seven 4-2, and the two threw punches at each other in the second match, taking it to game seven. It was only until overtime in the final game where the two could be separated. Ferra came under scrutiny and seemingly blamed himself on social media in the aftermath, but nothing can be said about the awkward bounce that led to Vitality’s counterattack. The Frenchman pre-jumped expecting the ball to come directly back to him, but the ball came off the post, and in a failed attempt to recover, Vitality went down the other end just seconds later to take the win.
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WELCOME, TEAM LIQUID
The first day was owned by Team Liquid. Coming in for their first event as a trio and the organisations first appearance in Rocket League, Team Liquid started with a bang. Settling into the first match versus Team BDS, they found themselves 2-1 down before cranking up the heat taking the next two matches in style to set up a fixture against Renault Vitality. Playing against arguably the favourites to win the Summer Grand Prix, Team Liquid strangled the life out of Vitality, limiting them to just one goal in three games, netting six in the process. Not a bad way to end your first day competing in Rocket League esports.
Day two didn’t quite go to plan as they were met by a resilient Team Oxygen side and Team BDS looking to get their revenge, but kuxir97, Speed and fruity look to be a team capable of dangerous results, and time can only be their friend.
Renault Vitality came out victorious in the Summer Grand Prix, and with less than two weeks until RLCS X, they’ve certainly set the benchmark and become the team to beat.
Stay tuned at GGRecon for more Rocket League esports news.
Image via Dreamhack
