RLCS X got underway at the weekend with the first Swiss stage of the first Fall Regional in Europe. If there were any doubts that the new system would simply be a repeat of seasons past in a new coat of paint they were discarded early on the first day, with huge upsets, plucky underdogs, the return of some old favourites and last-minute nail-biters galore. And then it happened again on Day 2. So let’s look at what worked, what didn’t, and talk a little bit more about the results.
The Good
Some were worried the new Swiss format would be boring, as established teams would sweep through the group stage and leave the teams who had battled through the qualifiers in the dust. And it’s true that the top teams managed to sweep all before them; last season’s champions Renault Vitality ominously only dropped a single game in their three matches, the opener against Solary. But the stakes — particularly in the final, do-or-die qualification round — meant that the pressure was on, and inconsistency was punished. There was no longer anywhere to hide, no promotion tournaments providing another obstacle to smaller teams, and we saw plenty of teams take advantage.
The other fear was that the format would be confusing, and there are still some fans who struggle with the Major qualification points system, but that will be ironed out in time. The official broadcast made a point of explaining these at the start of each broadcast and the thing about a Swiss system is that it can look confusing on paper but is usually fairly simple to understand once you get into the swing of things.
Speaking of the broadcast, the official broadcast has chosen its talent very well indeed. Lief is the perfect anchor for proceedings and while ideally I would have every match commentated by Shogun and Johnnyboi, the rotating cast of commentators all bring something to the table. It’s also made clear reasonably quickly following the draw which matches are being broadcast both on the A- and B-streams, which makes following your team — or the storylines of the day — much easier for a fan.
The Bad
All the talent and planning in the world can’t save you from technical glitches and the RLCS X broadcast was hit by several — on both days. We closed out day 1 with difficulties with talent’s cameras not being on and the same problem reared its ugly head straight away on day 2. We also had unwanted camera shakes, microphone difficulties and a humorous graphical glitch which told us Team Liquid had won every game between Renault Vitality and Solary. These will hopefully be ironed out over the next week so they don’t undermine the otherwise excellent broadcast quality.
The decision to start the broadcast with the second round of matches is a strange one, albeit one I can get understand; without it the official broadcast would last some nine hours or more. What is more frustrating is a lack of official resources to follow the scores and results from the first round; as these matches cannot be broadcast for legal reasons, the current best system is to sit on Liquipedia and hit F5 — hardly ideal. (This led to the humorous spectacle on day 1 of fans and players joining RelatingWave’s livestream as he used Bakkesmod and refreshed Liquipedia to update people on the scores.) Similarly, the qualification stages passed without much fanfare — not even an official announcement of the teams who had made it through. While a couple of the larger teams were able to broadcast their qualifier matches, most passed unseen— a missed opportunity given the talent on display. Hopefully in future these will be opened up to casters looking to make a name for themselves, as is done in other esports.
The Upsets
Team Liquid were the big shock on day 1. While it is true the addition of fruity to their roster may bring about some teething problems, expectations were still high for the team that paired him with two thirds of last season’s highly successful Mousesports roster. But they struggled defensively all day, going down to the unfancied Fadeaway in round 2, Rival Series side Triple Trouble in round 3, and ultimately getting reverse swept in a nail-biting conclusion by Monkeys in round 5. Speed had said earlier in the week that the team did not need a coach — an irony not lost on both the org’s fans and haters. They will be looking to bounce back in midweek before they drop too many qualification points.
If Liquid’s exit was a big shock on day 1, Oxygen Esports’ exit on day 2 was off the charts. Fresh off second place in the Summer Grand Prix, #1 seed in the group and considered highly likely to take the event outright, Oxygen came unstuck in a tight series with Magnifico that saw them take two victories in OT but go down to a narrow 0–1 defeat in game 5, before losing three games in OT against Vodafone Giants left them on the verge of elimination. A dominant victory against minnows Uniquestars kept their hopes alive but they simply did not turn up in round 5 against the prodigious Stormtroopers side which had narrowly lost to Endpoint in their previous game. An unlucky own goal in the opening game was followed by defensive blunders including double commits and miscommunications, while they only hit three goals in the offence all series. Aztral tried to keep them alive with a typical moment of individual brilliance, but Oxygen ultimately went down 3–1 in the series — a deeply concerning moment for another side with huge expectations.
There were some lesser upsets as well. Fadeaway going out would not necessarily have been considered an upset at the start of the day, but having beaten Team Liquid and given themselves 3 chances to secure qualification, they ran out of steam as the day went on, and after losing a great series to FC Barcelona 3–2, lost to the new Team Singularity roster and then English side The Last Resort, picking up only 1 game in the process. Libertas gave themselves a good seeding by topping the closed qualifier and took their first match against Opp Block, but after a dismantling by Team BDS, they went down sloppily to VENC Gaming and Glory4Builders, failing to take a single game in their last two matches.
The Surprises
It would possibly be easier to list the teams which didn’t surprise, but I’ll try anyway:
Team Singularity have had to rebuild their roster after ThO and noly were acquired by Guild Esports. Godsmilla came off their bench and proved why he can’t be written off as they took three series 3–0, avoiding the banana skin of Fadeaway, to qualify in style.
The Last Resort, fittingly, reached the main event through the Last Chance Qualifier bracket, but fell to 0–2 quickly with losses to Renault Vitality and “remkoe and friends” team Chalked. Living up to their name, however, they took the next three series, beating Ascending Legends, Team Name and Liquid’s conquerors Fadeaway to qualify for the next stage.
Magnifico managed to do what Fadeaway could not and secured qualification for stage 2 after their upset, beating the well-regarded Vodafone Giants and Opp Block as well as Oxygen — even taking Dignitas to a golden goal game 5 OT.
Monkeys overcame a tough draw that saw them face FC Barcelona, Top Blokes and Team Liquid to take the ultimate do-or-die game 5 OT against the latter. Their ability to perform under pressure will make them a team others will want to avoid when stage 2 gets underway next weekend.
Stormtroopers, similarly, were given a rough ride by the seeding, and were beaten by Dignitas after upsetting Nameseekers in their first game. They went down 3–2 to Endpoint in round 4, a series they were unlucky to lose, but came back to stun Oxygen and secure qualification — a massive achievement for the young squad.
When Vodafone Giants went down 0–1 following a loss to Magnifico in their opening game, fans could be forgiven for thinking they were in for a long day. But the Giants, aided by an easy 3–0 against Group B whipping boys Nordavind, came back to overcome Oxygen and the highly-rated Guild Esports roster and secure qualification in third place.
The Future
Next weekend will see the second Swiss stage, where we will go all over again. Vitality, BDS, Barcelona and Dignitas will be favourites to top the group after their dominant performances so far, but it only takes one side to upset that balance and put them under pressure. The elimination of Liquid and Oxygen not only serves as a warning to those teams, it also means that at least one play-off spot will go to a roster from outside the returning RLCS Season 9 teams. The remaining “established” RLCS sides — Guild, Endpoint, and Top Blokes —will know that they have a good chance of reaching the play-offs, but also that nobody is safe in this format. With 16 teams playing for 8 spaces, anything is possible, and a lot could come down to the draw. With that said, my predictions for the second Swiss stage are as follows:
3–0: BDS, Vitality
3–1: Barcelona, Dignitas, Top Blokes
3–2: Endpoint, Guild, Singularity
2–3: Vodafone Giants, Magnifico, Solary
1–3: Triple Trouble, Monkeys, VENC Gaming
0–3: The Last Resort, Stormtroopers
A lot of these were very tight decisions — in particular I could see Endpoint or Guild missing out on the play-offs, were they to have a bad day, while I could see any of the sides I’ve predicted to finish below them pull off a surprise. (I’m also probably underselling The Last Resort and Stormtroopers — but unfortunately someone has to finish in those spots). In fact, I hope to be surprised, rather than correct — just like I was this weekend.
Even better, this was just the first two days of the first tournament of a 10 month-long season. We also have weekly matches in The Grid and the incentivised scrimming of The Field, as well as the North American matches to come, a tweaked format featuring 24 teams in the Winter Split, and more. To say that things look exciting right now somewhat undersells it. This is the future. This is Rocket League.
