RLCS X Team Of The Week: Team Envy
Every week, GGRecon highlights one team performing well in the past seven days, and gives context to their performance. This week, we look at the history, recent results and expectations of Team Envy.
The first NA Regional Event of the Winter Split saw many great storylines, especially for teams who had a recent roster change. Rogue and the Pittsburgh Knights both stepped up and looked for a new form with a new line-up. But Team Envy didn’t need roster changes to do well at this Regional. Even though most people think of either SSG or NRG as the best team in NA, Massimo "Atomic" Franceschi, Nick "mist" Costello, and Pierre "Turbopolsa" Silfver stand their ground with solid Rocket League.
History: Veterans to victory
Envy’s adventure begins with Ghost Gaming. Over the course of 2019, Braxton "Allushin" Lagarec and Atomic join Ghost, and with every move, the team moves up a little bit in the RLCS. They might not have been a contender for any finals, but they can hold their own in the middle of the pack. Two top-six placements in NA for Season 6 and 7, and moving up into fifth place for Season 8 - Ghost Gaming were a steady RLCS team in 2019.
Their swing upwards started in 2020, with the signing of mist. His spot on the team had belonged to Michael "Memory" Moss and Jason "firstkiller" Corral before him, but when firstkiller made his way over to Rogue, mist came in from an inactive position on the Pittsburgh Knights. Again, a roster move was beneficial to their performance, as they finished Season 9 of the RLCS in the top four.
After Season 9, Ghost Gaming dropped the roster and temporarily left the Rocket league scene. The players went on as Vanguard, and continued their upswing. They made it to the grand finals of the ASTRONAUTS Star Circuit Season 1, beating Spacestation Gaming on the way. Vanguard only lasted three weeks, because Team Envy acquired the roster less than a month after they left Ghost.
Team Envy got its current shape three months later, when Turbopolsa got released from NRG Esports in June. The player to win half of the RLCS world championships ever played got Allushin’s spot, and he made it count. Turbopolsa joined an already solid team, and that meant they immediately were a contender for best team in the world.
Recent Results: Creating classics
Turbopolsa has displayed how he can lift up teams time and time again, and it’s no different with Team Envy. The Fall Split might be remembered more for Spacestation’s domination, but Envy was always near the top. A third place at Regional Event 1, second place at Regional Event 2, and first place at Regional Event 3 even shows Envy got better and better throughout the Split. The top four teams in NA always seem to battle it out between them, but Envy comes out on top often enough. The Fall Split came to a conclusion at the NA Major, where SSG reigned supreme, but Envy was never far behind.
The Winter Split started off promising for mist and his mates. The first Regional Event saw the favourites NRG and SSG fall to the lower bracket early, which gave Envy more breathing room in the upper bracket. They struggled a little against Ghost Gaming, only barely beating them in overtime. In the winners’ finals, they weren’t too bothered by Rogue, and swept them off the field four games to nil. But behold, the grand finals! NRG managed to get through the lower bracket to face Envy in these finals, which became an instant classic. And of course it’s Turbopolsa to get the winning goal in overtime of game 7, after five overtimes in a row.
Expectations: Ready for Regionals
The whole team is filled to the brim with talent and consistency. Atomic is one of the most amazing players when he’s feeling good, and as long as the passes to and from Turbo and mist keep connecting, they’re looking like the best team in NA when it comes to stability. They keep the games under their control, and do as they please.
This first NA Regional Event of the Winter Split goes to show that Team Envy is ready. Ready for the other top-four teams, ready for the pressure of grand finals, ready for another Regional Event, another Major - and eventually, ready for Worlds.
Image via ZeeboDesigns
