The Rocket League World Championship has reached a thrilling conclusion. Team BDS are the new RLCS World Champions, pulling out a victory against G2 Esports in the Grand Finals. It was an amazing match however you look at it, with plenty of action packed moments and interesting situations. What makes it even more special is that it was a classic EU vs NA matchup.
Image Credit: Rocket League Esports Twitter
Team BDS started the season by becoming champions in the Fall Split Major, only to finish it off by winning the World Championship. Not only that, but they won it in spectacular fashion against none other than the Winter Split Major winners. This incredible win came at a great time for BDS, especially as they were eliminated from the Winter and Spring Majors early on. Now, they’re on top of the world.
Road to the RLCS World Championship Playoffs
24 teams entered this tournament in hopes of reaching the throne, spanning seven different regions. Europe, America, South America, Asia Pacific, Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Oceania all had their best teams go and compete.
The Wildcard Stage was quite eventful as we had 16 teams going all out to join the top eight seeded teams in the Group Stage. Karmine Corp, SMPR Esports, Version1, Dignitas, Renegades, The Club, OpTic Gaming, and Spacestation Gaming were the teams that managed to progress further into the tournament.
The Group Stage was no different, giving us tons of memorable moments. Amazing goals, incredible saves, insane assists, and even some controversies and drama, the group stage had it all. Moist Esports, FURIA, Team BDS, Karmine Corp, G2 Esports, The General NRG, FaZe Clan, and Version1 were the teams that proceeded to the playoffs for a shot at the World Championship.
RLCS World Championship Playoffs Recap
Quarter Finals
Four matches were contested as part of the Quarter Finals:
- Moist Esports VS FURIA
- Team BDS VS Karmine Corp
- G2 Esports VS The General NRG
- FaZe Clan VS Version1
The Quarter Finals were hard fought all over the board, with the exception of G2 Esports winning 4-1 against NRG. FaZe Clan and BDS both had a 4-3 victory over their respective opponents, barely escaping elimination.
The most ludicrous match, however, was Moist VS FURIA. Moist Esports were the undisputed favourites, both because of how they performed so far and their incredible record history. They have even won the recent Spring Split Major.
FURIA took up the challenge like a champ and didn’t budge, holding their ground in every game. In what will become one of the greatest series ever, FURIA managed to pull out an amazing 4-3 victory over Moist.
Semi Finals
Two matches were contested in the Semi Finals:
- G2 Esports VS FaZe Clan
- Team BDS VS FURIA Esports
The Semi Finals were relatively evenly matched, with only the top teams remaining. There were no easy 4-0 or 4:- victories.
G2 Esports kicked things off against FaZe Clan. It took them six games to ensure going into the Grand Final itself. Three matches ended with a one point difference, tantalisingly close for both teams. The remaining three were decisive victories for G2 with both three and four point differences.
Team BDS and FURIA Esports had it no different. It also took BDS six games to advance, but unlike G2, they lost the first two. At that point, it was looking pretty grim for the soon to be champions, and no one knew what to expect. However, they wouldn’t even be at the level they are if they didn’t know how to keep a cool head while pushing on.
The Grand Final
24 teams entered, only the final two teams remained. Team BDS and G2 Esports have proven time and time again that they are one of the best EU and NA teams in existence. Ultimately, BDS’s Alex “Extra” Paoli, Evan “M0nkey M00n” Rogez, and Enzo “Seikoo” Grondein smashed G2 Esports in the finals with a crazy 4-1 victory.
While G2 Esports have proven that they’re NA’s best team, they were simply no match for EU’s giants, who have been dominant for the past couple of years. G2 managed to only win one match with the score of 2-1, whereas all the rest were absolutely calculated wins for BDS. Europe has once again shown that they’re the top dog in competitive Rocket League.
Another cool story is that of Seikoo, who just joined BDS a couple of months prior to the tournament. He won the most coveted individual prize, the World Championship MVP, which serves as a testament to what a great pick-up he has been. Reed “Chicago” Wilen from G2 won the World Championship Offensive MVP, while M0nkey M00n was named World Championship Defensive MVP.
This was BDS’s first World Championship, and it’s a crowning achievement as they have already won four Majors – one of which was international – and eight Regionals. The previous World Champion, NRG, ended up holding the title for 970 days due to the pandemic.
With one more RLCS World Championship behind us, we now look forward to the future and all upcoming events, Majors, and championships. The 2021-2022 season was incredible from start to finish, spoiling us with all kinds of close, amazingly entertaining games, intense situations, and everything in between.
At the end, now we have a clear ruling on who is the best team in the world at the moment, and Team BDS deserves all the glory. What an astonishing season for them. Huge congratulations to BDS and every other team that participated in the World Championship.
We are all very excited for the future, cannot wait to see how they all fare in the next one!
