The Rocket League Championship Series Season 7 enters its fourth week this weekend. With only two weeks of league play remaining, the dust is about to settle in the RLCS.
Week four features the first match pitting two of NA’s big three when NRG Esports face G2 in the last match of the day. Over in Europe, second place Team SoloMid will face third place PSG Esports in a match that could determine who finishes in the top two.
RLCS Week 4 NA Schedule and What to Watch for
Ghost Gaming begin Saturday’s action with a series against Spacestation Gaming. Both teams have a lot riding on this match. A loss here would give Ghost its fifth loss on the season and end any hope they had for LAN. A win for Spacestation would cement their position fourth place and they’d be the first team in NA outside of the Big 3 to win two series.
G2 Esports take on Splyce in the second series of the day. G2 are yet to drop a series and are heavily favored against Splyce. Splyce are staying relegation in the eyes at 1-3 and haven’t won a single game outside of their 3-2 victory against Splyce in week one. Jacob “JKnaps” Knapman could have another high scoring series for G2.
Ghost will then play their second series of the day against Rogue. Rogue started out 0-2 but bounced back strong performances against Splyce and Cloud9 last week. Ghost desperately need a win, and if they lose Spacestation to start the day, this could be a win or go home series for them. Treyven “Lethamyr” Robitaille has been known to step up in big moments for Ghost. Will he be up to the task against Rogue?
Splyce face Evil Geniuses in the fourth series of the day. Evil Geniuses have made the last two postseason LANs, but sit at 1-4 and in serious danger of missing out on the playoffs. Their import striker Matthew “Drippay” Den-kaat did not leave Australia to watch the LANs from his couch. If EG drops this series, they’ll be in big trouble. They need to play their best to fend off a scrappy Splyce team.
Spacestation have a big test in the fifth series of the day against Cloud9. Cloud9 have only dropped two games in four series and will look to continue their run of play against SSG. Spacestation lost a five game series against G2 in week one, but were clobbered by NRG last week. Both teams have potent offenses, and if Spacestation can force the series past three games, they’ll be happy with the result.
G2 close the day’s action with the match of the week against NRG. This is the first match up of any of the Big 3 teams in Season 7, but NRG beat G2 at the Rival Esports Winter Open, the Beyond Entertainment Astronauts cup, DremaHack Leipzig and at WSOE in the off-season. Each of those series were close, but NRG always had the upper hand. Can G2 flip the script? They’ll need to slow down Garrett “GarrettG” Gordon and Justin “JSTN” Morales to have a chance.
RLCS Week 4 EU Schedule and What to Watch for
Mousesports kick of Sunday’s play with a match up against FC Barcelona. Barcelona started off the season hot with a win over Dignitas but have struggled since. They didn’t score a goal in a sweep against Renault Vitality, and just fell to TSM in five games. They sit in fifth place now, but a win against Mouz would move them right back into playoff contention.
Triple Trouble will try and slow the unstoppable force that is Renault Vitality next. Vitality lost two games in five series this season, and another sweep here guarantee them the top spot in EU. Triple Trouble are a very resilient team though, and star player Aldin “Ronaky” Hodzic has really started to find his footing in the RLCS. Ronaky would have to play his very best just to avoid the sweep against RV.
Mouz challenge PSG in their second match of the day. PSG sit in third place currently, despite some fickle performances last week. They were reverse swept by Triple Trouble and then outlasted The Bricks later that same day last week. Mouz have quietly outperformed expectations and can play with anybody. If PSG comes out and plays like they can, they should easily dispatch of Mouz. If not, Mouz are liable to surprise them.
FC Barcelona also have double duty on Sunday. They face The Bricks in the fourth series of the day. The Bricks dropped both of their series last week and are dangerously close to the bottom two with their 1-3 record.
A loss would put them in a deep hole and would also basically guarantee Barcelona a spot in the top six. Francesco “Kuxir97” Cinquemain has played well all season and could bring one of his herculean efforts out on Sunday to keep The Bricks’ LAN hopes alive.
Dignitas look for their second win of the season against Triple Trouble in Sunday’s penultimate series. Last week Dignitas dominated Mouz 3-0, but there are still mounds of questions surrounding the team. With matches against The Bricks and TSM on the horizon, Dignitas need this win to achieve top six. Triple Trouble could cement their position in the top six with a win, but a loss could move them back into the relegation zone, depending on the rest of the day’s results.
Team SoloMid conclude Sunday’s action with an important series against PSG. The second and third place teams are both angling for a guaranteed trip to LAN, and a win here would give them the inside track. The Regional Championships are known to be unpredictable. TSM could establish themselves as the second best team in EU with a win and further separate themselves from the scrum happening mid-table.
RLCS Week 4: Grand Series and Oceanic Masters
In the third week of the Gfinity Oceanic Masters, ICON Esports and Justice Esports highlight Saturday’s action. A big three is beginning to emerge in OCE, with ICON, Justice and Chiefs Esports Club all undefeated thus far. The matchup of ICON and Justice will give fans a good feel for what the top of the region will look like. Chiefs also have two important series against ExmproX and Team Esper respectively. All matches will be streamed on twitch.tv/gfinityau beginning Saturday at 8:00 P.M. EST.
Erodium have two massive series this weekend against INTZ eSports and Lowkey Esports. Erodium and INTZ are the only undefeated teams in SAM right now, and the winner of that series will have a leg up heading into the playoffs. Lotus also play an important series against Orchid. Sunday’s action will shape the seeding of the playoffs immensely. The Grand Series will be broadcast on twitch.tv/rocketstreetlive beginning at 8:00 P.M. EST on Sunday.
NA’s preshow will begin at 2:30 P.M. EST on Saturday at twitch.tv/rocketleague. EU’s preshow will begin at 11:30 A.M. EST on Sunday on the same channel.
Featured image courtesy of Psyonix.
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