The Rocket League Championship Series is only seven weeks away. That leaves enough time for weekly team by team previews of the world’s best Rocket League teams. This series will act almost as a movie trailer for what to expect during Season 7 for each team.
The third preview will discuss recently promoted EU squad Triple Trouble.
Season 6 Results: 6-1 record in the Rival Series lands them in second place. Took down compLexity Gaming and Savage! to win Promotion Playoff.
Off-season Movement: Jack ‘Speed’ Packwood-Clarke (0.86 GPG, 0.66 APG, 1.14 SAPG) left the team for Flipsid3 Tactics. Andy ‘Kassio’ Landais (1.26 GPG, 0.74 APG, 1.65 APG) left Method to replace him.
Off-season Performance: 9-12th Renegade Cup EU Finals, DreamHack Leipzig Group Stage, fifth place in WSOE Qualfier
Team MVP: Ronaky
Realistic Team Goal: Avoid Relegation
Background and Team History
Triple Trouble’s roster was added by Red Reserve at the start of Season 6 and the squad earned promotion with the org. The team had a solid Season 6 after finishing fourth in the RLRS in Season 5. A large key to their jump from mid-table to top tier was their move to add Speed after Season 5.
Speed has a way of lifting teams he joins, but Aldin ‘Ronaky’ Hodzic and Euan ‘Tadpole’ Ingram made important strides forward in their development. Losing players is part of RLRS success, so when Speed went on loan to Flipsid3 the writing seemed to be on the wall. Red Reserve were moving on and would need a new third.
When Red Reserve announced they were dropping the roster, Speed left for F3. Triple Trouble didn’t hesitate to add Kassio upon receiving the news. Kassio is a spectacular replacement. Despite his team finishing third in the standings, he may have been the best player in the Rival Series last season.
The Frenchman is absolutely of RLCS quality and his arrival keeps Triple Trouble in LAN contention. The question is does he move the needle enough for Triple Trouble to beat EU’s best.
If Kassio was the RLRS’ best player last season then Ronaky was a close second. He led Red Reserve in goals, saves and goal participation. He was the MVP of 15 out of 19 of the team’s wins and was great in tough situations. He’ll continue to lead the squad.
Tadpole filled all the rest of the gaps in the team. His best role is the one he played last year, a smart rotator who never saw a 50/50 challenge he couldn’t win. The stat sheet is not where Tadpole shines, but his role is vital in the team’s success.
Triple Trouble’s Best Case Scenario
Kassio and Ronaky have Squishy/Gimmick like potential. Both players are relatively unknown but are among the most mechanically capable players in the game. The best case scenario for TT is that the potential they’ve flashed comes to fruition earlier than expected.
If the two players can overwhelm opponents by applying constant pressure then Tadpole can ensure that the goal is never uncovered. Cloud9 used that formula to ascend to Rocket League royalty. Triple Trouble could ride that legacy to a LAN appearance and the first step in creating a long lasting dynasty.
No one expects them to be as good as Cloud9 is now. Their dream scenario is that they take their first steps in achieving their potential. Chemistry and communication will be essential in that goal.
Cloud9 is known for their mechanical ability but that isn’t their only defining feature. They have a special understanding of where their teammates are on the field and what they’ll be doing with their next touch. That’s how they create so much possession and space.
Triple Trouble will need to take a page from the C9 book. This will be the team’s first full season together so there will be slip ups in communication. They need to limit those slip ups and begin to develop foresight and confidence in what their teammate will do next.
If they can figure that out, they’ll be tough to stop. Their fun style of play attracts a new org and the team makes the LAN playoff after a top four finish in the regular season.
This team is talented enough to not have to rely on other team’s mistakes to create scoring chances. They can use infield passing, solo plays, aerial attacks and long shots to put balls in the back of the net. Triple Trouble could however be crippled by making their own mistakes.
Triple Trouble’s Worst Case Scenario
Dignitas is really the only team in Europe who has no chance of being relegated. That means you can’t rule out Triple Trouble having a rough season and getting bumped from the RLCS.
A rough season in EU could literally mean playing two or three “off” series that cost you. There are so many talented teams in the region and someone has to finish at the bottom of the table.
As outlined in the Splyce preview, avoiding bottom two after promotion is quite difficult. Only two teams have done it, and FlyQuest and Mouz did it by small margins. No former RLRS team has ever made top four in the RLCS, let alone qualified for LAN.
The worst case scenario for TT is that mistakes lead to them getting outclassed by more consistent RLCS teams. Double commits, mistouches and unattended nets knock the team off kilter and they can’t correct course. If Tadpole can’t lock down the Torment/Fireburner role then Triple Trouble could let a lot of goals in.
Image courtesy of DreamHack
Letting goals in leads to being swept and game difference will be crucial in Season 7. Pushing series to game five could be the difference between the promotion playoff and a nice seed in the regional championship.
Kassio and Ronaky may not live up to the insane production they put up in the Rival Series. If the team struggles both players may feel the need to put the team on their back. That could lead to them getting into each other’s way and losing to more organised teams.
TL;DR: Triple Trouble can make LAN if Kassio and Ronaky reach their potential ahead of schedule. If they don’t, lack of communication and unforced errors could lead to facing relegation in the stacked EU region.
Feature Image Courtesy of Triple Trouble.
You can like The Game Haus on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for more sports and esports articles from other TGH writers along with Connor!
“From Our Haus to Yours”