The Rocket League Championship Series enters its final week on Saturday and Sunday. Most of the season is in the books, but there is still plenty to determine this weekend.
The second position is still open in NA and EU and this weekend’s performance will decide important positioning for the Regional Championships. By Sunday night fans will also know who will play in the Promotion Tournament and face relegation.
RLCS Week 5 NA Schedule and What to Watch For
Spacestation Gaming begin Saturday’s action against fellow former Rival Series squad Splyce. Splyce are mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, but still have plenty of pride to play for. Spacestation have an outside chance at third place or even sixth place, but a win here guarantees them a playoff spot. This could be a trap game for Spacestation who face top four contender Rogue later in the day.
Cloud9 take on NRG Esports in perhaps the most anticipated series of Season 7. These giants of North America have continued their reign, clashing again on Saturday. NRG are only two series away from a perfect 7-0 season, and C9 are their last true obstacle. Cloud9 could move in on the second seed if they grab the win. This is the match up of two of the best three teams in the world and there will be fireworks.
Spacestation play their last series of Season 7 against Rogue. Rogue have NRG later on, and if they want to avoid relegation, they need a win here. Spacestation have the chance to be the best promoted team in history and the first to ever have a winning season. Rogue are 1-4 and will need at least two series wins on the season to stay above the relegation line. This is a do or die series for them.
Ghost then face Evil Geniuses in a match that guarantees a playoff spot. Both teams have identical records and win differential, so it should be a close series. The winner of the series will pick up their third win and thus avoid bottom two, but the loser need losses from Rogue to stay alive. This is the last series of the season for both teams and for some players it could be their last in the RLCS.
NRG battle Rogue in what, on paper, seems like a one-sided affair. That being said, anything can happen
when a team’s back is against the wall, and that’s exactly where Rogue will be on Saturday. Wins against Spacestation and NRG would put Rogue into that ever important top four, but they’ll have their hands full. Justin “JSTN” Morales is putting up a very impressive campaign and is likely to be named the MVP in NA.
The season will conclude with another top tier match. Cloud9 face G2 Esports in the last series of the season. The winner will finish in the top two and have an automatic bid to the World Championships. G2 took a tough loss against NRG last week, but Cloud9 also look vulnerable after losing 3-1 to Spacestation. The winner of this series won’t have to sweat out a playoff series against the most likely four seed Spacestation (who beat C9 and forced G2 to five games earlier this season).
RLCS Week 5 EU Schedule and What to Watch for
Mousesports kick off Sunday’s play with what may be their last RLCS series against Renault Vitality. Mouz need to beat Vitality and have TSM beat both Dignitas and The Bricks to avoid the bottom two. That’s no small task as Vitality have been Europe’s best team this season. Vitality have already locked in their spot in the postseason, and a win against Mouz would guarantee them the one seed for the Regional Championships.
The Bricks challenge Team SoloMid in the second series of the day. The Bricks are currently in the bottom two, and a win against TSM would greatly improve their chances. Team SoloMid faces both of the relegation line walkers this weekend and has the fate of Dignitas and The Bricks in their hands. A win against The Bricks would edge TSM up the competitive mid-table and would keep their chances at a top four spot alive.
FC Barcelona reunite with former Rival Series companions Triple Trouble in the third match of the day. Both teams are vying for the second seed and the winner of this series guarantees themselves a top four spot. Triple Trouble picked up two big wins against Dignitas and Vitality last week and are in good form. Barcelona also played well and beat Mouz and The Bricks. Triple Trouble narrowly took the series 3-2 when the teams met in the Rival Series last season.
Dignitas then take on Team SoloMid. As mentioned earlier, TSM have a large hand in the fate of The Bricks and Dignitas. If mousesports can pull off the upset against Vitality and TSM take care of business, both The Bricks and Dignitas will face relegation. It’s a long shot though. If Dig pick up a win here they’re in great shape because they have a slight game differential advantage. TSM could sneak into the top two if they win both of their games and get some help from Barcelona and PSG Esports.
Speaking of, Barcelona take on PSG in the battle for the two seed. If TSM slip up in either of their matches and PSG win, they’re in. Barcelona need to beat PSG and hope Dignitas or The Bricks can steal a series off of TSM. If TSM drop three games in their series, PSG is guaranteed the two seed with any result over Barcelona. Everything will come down to this match and the series will be very close. This is also the first RLCS meeting of these two soccer super clubs in the battle car arena.
The last series of the season pits Dignitas versus The Bricks. Both teams sit right on the relegation line, and much like the Ghost vs EG match in NA, one team will qualify for the playoffs and the other will play in the promotion tournament. Both of these teams have legendary players like Francesco “Kuxir97” Cinquemani and Pierre “Turbopolsa” Silfver. They could be playing their last RLCS match on Sunday.
RLCS Week 5:Grand Series and Oceanic Masters
Two weeks of the Oceanic Masters series remain, and none of their top three face one another this weekend. Justice eSports face EDGE, ICON Esports face Esper and Renegades (formerly Chiefs Esports Club) take on Out of Order. Out of Order and 1NE eSports both sit at 2-2 and are making a push for the fourth spot and a chance at the Regional Championship as well as automatic qualification for next season. All matches will be streamed on twitch.tv/gfinityau beginning Saturday at 8:00 P.M. EST.
The Grand Series wraps up South American play, and there are plenty of high profile matches to look forward to. SAM’s top four of Lowkey Esports, Erodium, INTZ eSports and Lotus all have one loss and all play on Sunday. Lowkey faces GFactor Galaxy and INTZ face Team CryptiK in what should be easy wins.
Later on INTZ will battle Lotus and the last match of the season features Erodium versus Lotus. Any one of the top four could take the league title, and seeding will be very important looking ahead to the Regional Championship. 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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