Four Rocket League Championship Series spots are on the line this weekend during the Promotion Playoffs. The top teams from Rocket League’s second division, the Rival Series, will battle the bottom two RLCS teams from NA and EU for a chance to play in the game’s top tier.
Four Rival Series teams earned promotion in Season 6, and Season 7’s Promotion Playoffs features very prestigious players that could be facing relegation.
The Peeps will make their bid for the RLCS in the first series of Saturday’s action against Evil Geniuses. Evil Geniuses struggled in Season 7 after losing Reed “Chicago” Wilen to G2 in the offseason. While his replacement Matthew “Drippay” Den Kaat has been solid, EG struggled all season to produce the same caliber of offense that earned them a LAN spot in Season 6.
No player for either team has appeared in a previous Promotion Playoffs match. The Peeps relied on the stellar play of Slater “Retals” Thomas to carry them to top two in the RLRS. Offense is where they hang their hat as they led the league in goals with 2.41. While EG did play against stronger competition, their defense struggled all season. They allowed 2.67 GPG, worst in NA.
Experience favors EG, but The Peeps have plenty of up and coming talent. This could be a high scoring affair. The winner advances to the Winner’s Finals to take on the winner of Splyce vs. Birds and the Beez. The loser falls to face the loser of the other series.
Karma – Courtesy of Dreamhack
Splyce take their experience from earning their promotion in Season 6 against Birds and the Beez in the second series of the day. Splyce sported NA’s worst offense in Season 7, scoring just 1.12 GPG. BnB had the Rival Series’ best defense, so goals may come at a premium for Splyce. Jamie “Karma” Bickford was named MVP in last season’s Promotion Playoffs, and her team will need her to recreate that performance to have a chance at staying in the RLCS.
Nick “mist” Costello leads a very potent BnB squad. This is mist’s first full season in Psyonix sponsored play, and he’s made an impressive impact. The rookie scored 0.97 GPG in the RLRS, good for second in NA.
The winner of that series advances to the Winner’s Finals where they’ll have a shot at the first promotion spot. The loser will have to win two consecutive series in the loser’s bracket to claim their RLCS spot.
Two series are all that stand in the way of moving up or dropping down. With two series wins on Saturday two of these teams will play in RLCS Season 8.
The Bricks begin Sunday’s play with a best of seven series against Complexity Gaming. Former world champion Francesco “Kuxir97” Cinquemani has his place in Rocket League lore on the line. Complexity dropped after losing in the Season 6 Promotion Playoffs. Things went much better in the Rival Series after the team replaced Linus “al0t” Möllergren with Hrant “Flakes” Yakoub in the offseason.
If Complexity earn promotion they’ll be the second ever team to drop and promote in consecutive seasons (Allegiance in S5 and S6). Flakes was the leading scorer in the RLRS for Complexity while Kuxir97 earned the Golden Striker award in the RLCS. Both teams have flashed the ability to score all season. If promoted, Complexity would have the worst RLRS record (4-3) of any team to earn promotion.
Mousesports will take on Veloce in the second series of the day. Veloce went 7-0 in RLRS league play and are the favorite to earn promotion in EU. Their offense was among the most powerful in league history, and they face a team that struggled to keep RLCS opponents out of their net. Jack “FlamE” Pearton was on the
FlamE – Courtesy of @ZeeboDesigns on Twitter
first team to ever be relegated in EU back in Season 4. He’s played three seasons in the second division and is two series victories away from rejoining the RLCS.
Both of the Rival Series teams have RLCS experience, and both held RLCS spots (with different orgs) in Season 4. Joonas “Mognus” Salo of Complexity and al0t of Mouz made a Grand Finals run in Season 4. Kuxir97 and Complexity’s Marius “gReazymeister” Ranheim won the World Championship in Season 2. David “Miztik” Lawrie, Kuxir97, gReazymeister and al0t played in the first season of the RLCS. There’s a lot of history on the line in Sunday’s action.
If relegated, Mouz’s al0t would be the first player to drop in consecutive seasons.
The Promotion Playoffs will begin at 3 p.m. EST for NA and will continue Sunday at 12:00 p.m. EST with EU play. All action will be broadcast on twitch.tv/rocketleague.
Feature image courtesy of dailyesports.gg.
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