Last regional of this split is over and for the first time, we had a bracket reset. I will go through all of the matches that were disputed

 

Endpoint VS Oxygen

Oxygen completely destroyed endpoint. From the very first minute, they were applying pressure and forcing endpoint to make great saves. First game went to overtime because of a mistake by Chaussette but Oxygen recovered and ended up winning. Next 2 games were more of the same, Oxygen completely suffocated Endpoint and left them in tough situation with little to no boost. And to complete the sweep, they won game 4 with a score of 5-3 goals and guaranteed a top 4 finish for themselves, the best one during the whole RLCS X season. On the other hand, Endpoint let go a 1 in a million opportunity to get more points for the rankings with 4 of the top 6 teams out of the tournament. Aztral was insane and couldn’t stop scoring and making impossible plays while all of 3 endpoint players were looking out of rhythm and having really bad rotations.

 

The Woo VS Dignitas

The Cinderella story came to an end. Dignitas completely dominated The Woo through 4 of the 5 games. Even when The Woo was able to put consistent pressure, Dignitas defense was just too strong and prevented them to even come close to scoring. Their passing plays were on point and they showed why they are the best team in 1v1 situations. All of 3 players had insane goals coming from a 1v1 and even from 1v2. The Woo were able to take a game in which they looked like the better team and winning it 3-0, but it was not enough to forced more than a game 5. They had an impressive run and they got themselves in major positions. As for Dignitas, they demonstrated that they are the better team and advanced to the lower bracket semi-finals with an overall result of 4-1 and a total score line of 13-6 goals.

 

Team BDS VS Vodafone Giant

I am speechless. This series was just amazing. Every single game was really close and was a nail bitter. BDS won the first game which was maybe the least close of all of them by 3-1 and looked very dominating. But the Giants answered immediately and won game 2 with an incredible ceiling pinch from Zamué. Game 3 went to overtime and after many chances for both teams, it was Monkey Moon with a double tap the one who won the game and BDS was up 2-1. And next 3 games, it was time for Itachi. He completely starved BDS and forced them to play a defensive style and this lead them to scoring double taps and air dribbles since the players of the French team had little to no boost to protect their backboard or force a 50v50. Stake passes were just something else and Zamué accuracy secured them the win. Giants defeat BDS and send them to the lower bracket while securing themselves a top 2 finish, first one since regional 2 of the Fall Split, were they got swept against BDS.

 

Oxygen VS Dignitas

If there is something that defines this series is back and forth. First 2 games were dominated by Dignitas and they wiped Oxygen out of the map. But the next 3 games, Aztral started to pop off, and this, combined with some crucial mistakes by Dignitas, lead Oxygen to win 3 consecutive games and put themselves on match point. But now it was the time to shine for ApparentlyJack, and his insane defense and mechanics lead Dignitas to a 3-1 win and forced a game 7.

Game 7 was just something else. Dignitas scored early in the game and aimed to maintain that lead while Oxygen was pushing forward with everything they had. And while doing that and with under 40 seconds left, they get scored on and found themselves losing 2-0. But an insane play from Aztral and then what looked like a whiff from Aztral and the shot from Chaussette ended up tying the game and sending it to overtime. This OT was really intense, with many missed opportunities for both teams, but in an insane shot, Joreuz scored and sent Dignitas to the lower bracket finals. For oxygen, this was a very good result and they will look up to continue improving during the major and the spring split.

 

Dignitas VS BDS

What to say about this series? BDS completely dominated Dignitas and swept them out of the tournament. Dignitas passing plays were not connecting and their solo plays were just not enough against the brick wall that is BDS defense. As for BDS, they did just enough to win every game and advance to face the Giants in the grand finals.

For Dignitas this was a huge regional. They are now in the conversation for a world championship spot had their best ranking finish during this whole season. If they can continue like this, they are a serious candidate for the winter mayor and the spring split regionals.

 

BDS VS Vodafone Giants

This was one of the most intense series of all of rocket league history. Neither team was dominating. This series was very different from the first one they played. The one earlier was really clean and the only way to score was by making an insane play. But this one had many mistakes from both teams and even with those mistakes, the other team couldn’t score. And for the first time during the whole RLCS season in Europe, we were seeing a bracket reset. BDS won game 7 in overtime and forced the Giants to play another series if they wanted to win. Giants won the first game with a very solid game and it looked like this series was going to be the same as the one of Envy VS SSG in NA. But BDS came to play and won the next 2 games. Giants won game 4 and it looked like we were going to see another game 7. But then BDS won the next 2 games and crowned themselves as the winners of this regional. 13 games were played and only in 1 of them the score line difference was more than 1 goal, and in 8 of those 13 games the game went to overtime. This shows how incredibly close this matchup was.

I honestly can’t believe that the Giants didn’t win this regional. They were looking phenomenal and after beating BDS in the upper bracket I thought it was game over. But rocket league is such an unpredictable esport and it gave me that surprise.

 

This regional was the most unpredictable we have seen up to today. From the start seeing teams like Top Blokes and Guild dropping out so early in the tournament and seeing a team like The Woo’s playing in day 4 is something that absolutely no one saw coming. Some teams have to figure out what is wrong in their game and soon because the major is coming and you will want to be in form for it.