Where There's A Will There's A Zamué
Wouldn’t it be nice if I didn’t have to totally re-evaluate how I looked at each region every month? Attack of the Invisible Ninja beat Dire Wolves (two sides that don’t frequently break top four) to win the third Oceanian Regional Event, while Renegades didn’t even make the semis. NRG Esports lost to the Susquehanna Soniqs in the round of sixteen of Week 3 of The Grid in North American; an event won by The Peeps.
Meanwhile, in Europe, WOO and Denied reached the round of six and eight respectively. Even South America, one of the most stable regions currently, saw Carnage Gaming, an established top three side, crumble in the round of eight in Prime Series 2. I need to take a moment to prepare myself before adventuring back into the weekend’s action.
5. KYLE “TORMENT” STORER - VERSION1
And I’m back, with a name and team I don’t think I’ve written down since Fall Split. Version1 have been a very middle of the pack team but defied the odds this week by reaching the semifinals of The Grid NA. Torment absolutely killed it in most departments, with 2.07 saves per game, 0.93 goals per game and a shooting accuracy upwards of 34%. That being said, I have yet to decide (given they only put up 7.63 shots per game as a team, twelfth out of the sixteen teams) whether their placement was the result of a miracle or a genius, or if it’s just a sign of things to come.
4. NELSON “VIRTUOSO” LASKO - ENDPOINT
An early loss against SauceSquad was not what Endpoint were looking for, but they absolutely made the most of EU Regional Event 3, going on a four-match win streak to solidify their place at the major. Last week Otto “Metsanauris” Kaipiainen wove together all the clips, but this time Virtuoso’s relentless shooting was what pulled them through. The Irishman put 1.71 goals in the back of the net each game on Saturday, with another 2.58 hits going in that direction. If you crunch the numbers that’s an astronomical 40% shooting accuracy.
3. AUSTIN “AYYJAYY” AEBI - THE PEEPS
As was the case with my fifth placed player, I don’t think AYYJAYY has been at the front of anyone’s mind for a long time now. The 18-year-old American sent 3.91 shots goalward each game across the two days of The Grid, fifth of the forty-eight players, of which over a quarter found the target. A closer look at the grand final against Team Envy shows that he actually performed better under pressure, scoring over half of The Peeps goals in that series and making a little under half of the saves.
On an ordinary week that would be sufficient for being my Standout Player of the Week, but this was no “ordinary week”. The grand final of the European Regional was extended to thirteen games in length, and these two did not pull their punches at any time.
2. EVAN “M0NKEY M00N” ROGEZ - TEAM BDS
In a terrifyingly familiar repeat of Regional 2, Team BDS was knocked down to the lower bracket in the round of three. But this time - this time they were ready, the French roster blew Dignitas out of the water to face the Vodafone Giants once again.
- Related - BDS: Best Damn Squad
Over the course of the day, M0nkey M00n averaged 3.33 shots, 0.88 goals and 1.96 saves per game but the only thing he needs to be remembered for is this:
1. SAMUEL “ZAMUÉ” CORTÉS - VODAFONE GIANTS
That doesn’t tell the tale of the rest of the match though. A closely contested first series saw Team BDS clinch a bracket reset, coming back from 2-3 down. It was Zamue that gave the Giants two match points with this world-beating demo play:
Earlier in the day he also scored a blindingly fast ceiling pinch against Team BDS in the upper bracket final, although there was little to separate the two teams all day. Despite not being able to farm Dignitas for stats he stayed within a few shots, goals and saves per game of his French counterpart, and for that, he has earnt not just Standout Player of the Week, but a load of respect for holding it together across 19 games against Team BDS.
European Rocket League returns tomorrow with the final week of The Grid while North America's edition continues with the playoffs tonight at 11pm GMT. In the meantime, stay tuned for more features, news and interviews here at GGRecon!
Images via ZeeboDesigns
