Storylines - RLCS X EU - Edition #2
I often find myself pondering the potential outcomes of tournaments while I try (and fail) to get to sleep, usually because I've missed the end of an exciting series. Not once has my brain conjured up the messes that were the RLCS X EU Regional 1 and The Grid Week 1 brackets though.
Guild Esports, seeded first in the playoffs, were beaten convincingly by Magnifico, their only game win being a shaky 4-2 victory. Renault Vitality missed two consecutive major event finals since Rocket League Summit 1 and DHPC Montreal. Triple Trouble, of all teams, won The Grid Week 1 4-3 over Oxygen Esports.
Nevertheless, here are my best guesses at what will happen in this week's The Grid.
FC Barcelona
Predictions (Regional 1 followed by The Grid): Tied third, tied third
Placements: Tied twelfth, tied thirteenth
New Prediction (for The Grid Week 2): Tied ninth
Oh dear, Barcelona, you’ve really dropped the ball since Stage 1 of the Regional. Maybe that 3-0 record was more a product of their seeding than their talent. Barcelona’s losses to Libertas and Team Liquid in The Grid were unexpected, I considered them unlucky at the time, but after winning only one game, against a weakened TLR Esports, I am confident in saying Barcelona are slumping.
Dignitas
Predictions: Tied fifth, tied fifth
Placements: Tied fifth, tied ninth
New Prediction: Tied fifth
In an ecosystem as crazy as Rocket League esports, it’s nice to have something consistent and reliable. Not least because it makes it super easy to predict the same placement every time they play. A close lower bracket series may make my prediction a little wrong again, but I have faith Dignitas won’t let me down.
Team Liquid
Predictions: Tied fifth, tied ninth
Placements: Tied seventeenth, tied fifth
New Prediction: Tied fifth
There’s nothing embarrassing about getting knocked out by the overall winner in The Grid, until you beat them 3-1 the next day in The Field. It seems Team Liquid, after three weeks, have found their feet. It’s too late to reclaim those lost points in Regional 1 and The Grid, but they are still in good standing to qualify for the European Major and retain their Grid spot if they don’t make a mess of the remaining events this season. Despite this sudden improvement, I still get the feeling this roster will benefit from a coach going forward, this Liquid roster is far from the level the best rosters have been demonstrating.
Oxygen Esports
Predictions: First, first
Placements: Tied seventeenth, second
New Prediction: Tied thirteenth
I told you so, kind of. I guess I was right with the see-saw theory, but first-place in The Grid was a step too far. Either way, my opinion could be reinforced by an awful Oxygen performance on Friday. I’ve also got the difficult job of finding a cause, the results from the lab aren’t due to get back until next Thursday, so I’ll just have to hope for a positive (negative?) result from Oxygen in the meantime.
Click to enlargeRenault Vitality
Predictions: Second, second
Placements: Tied third, tied fifth
New Prediction: First
Vitality may have missed their second consecutive final for the first time in the year, but Alpha has been feeling under the weather, and I wish him the best of luck with his recovery. If he’s not back to full fitness by Friday, we may well see another slight underperformance from the bees. Otherwise, the only things standing in their way are themselves and perhaps the other top French roster.
Team BDS
Predictions: Tied third, tied third
Placements: First, tied ninth
New Prediction: Tied third
Although their The Grid losses were to Renault Vitality and a Triple Trouble side playing some lights out carball, a mix of results has left me wondering if Team BDS are showing early symptoms of Oxygen-itis. My best guess for BDS right now is what it has been throughout RLCS X - third place in each event.
Guild Esports
Predictions: Tied fifth, tied fifth
Placements: Tied fifth, tied ninth
New Prediction: Tied third
Guild has been one of the less consistent over the last two weeks - 3-2 in Regional Stage 1, 3-0 in Stage 2, out in groups in The Grid, losing to Magnifico on Sunday night and topping The Field at 4-1. Since clearly they can beat a lot of the rosters in The Grid, and Magnifico can’t rear its head until the next Regional, I’m content in predicting a semifinal finish for Guild.
Top Blokes
Predictions: Tied ninth, tied fifth
Placements: Second, tied fifth
New Prediction: Second
The best performing team on average across all competitions is Top Blokes. They’re sixth in The Field with a 3-2 record, they were reverse swept by Oxygen Esports in The Grid playoffs, and they took Team BDS to game six in the finals of Regional 1. Suffice to say, keep your eyes on Top Blokes this Friday.
Triple Trouble
Predictions: Tied twenty-third, tied thirteenth
Placements: Tied ninth, first
New Prediction: Tied fifth
It seems that not only was Calix the right move, but also the best move for Triple Trouble, who have outplaced Libertas (with former TT player Rix_Ronday) in both events. I don’t believe another win is on the cards for Tadpole and company this week, but making playoffs should be a small feat in their eyes.
Vodafone Giants
Predictions: Tied ninth, tied fifth
Placements: Tied fifth, tied third
New Prediction: Tied fifth
Only the Giants and Triple Trouble exceeded my expectations for both The Grid and Regional 1. The Spanish team is on par with Renault Vitality in terms of results, but because they haven’t been affected by illness, I can’t see them improving from their current placements in the near future, playoffs should be an easy achievement, and it’s a coin toss as to whether they make semifinals or not.
Monkeys, Libertas and Chalked are the teams I expect to be joining Oxygen Esports in the “zero wins club”. All three have demonstrated on multiple occasions that they struggle significantly against any resistance. In contrast, Solary, Endpoint and Team Singularity have shown that on their day they can compete with the top teams.
Week 2 of The Grid EU starts on Friday, August 14 at 6pm BST. In the meantime, stay tuned at GGRecon for more Rocket League esports news, interviews and features!
Images via DreamHack
