Veloce Alone On Top Of European Rival Series

By Stax

For the veterans of Veloce Esports, their fate in the Rival Series was mostly going to be determined this weekend. Veloce faced competition from the other three teams that did not need to qualify via the open qualifier for this season - Vikings, compLexity, and Method. While Rocket League Championship Series veteran FreaKii was not happy about the week two triple-header, he and his team took care of business as part of a 14-game day and sit alone at the top of the league at 5-0, with the Spanish ARG next week and The Rightovers in week four to wrap up their season.

In Friday's opening match, Veloce and Vikings traded overtime wins before Veloce exploded for five goals in a game three rout to break the deadlock. With his team's back against the wall, Maestro led his Vikings team with a hat trick in a game four overtime victory. Last season as Fnatic in the RLCS, nobody on his team managed three goals in a single game. Despite registering nine shots in the decider, only two found the back of the net for the Vikings. A pair of goals from FreaKii and one more from FlamE was enough for Veloce to escape with a win to start off the long day.

Both teams would get a break, as Method and ARG took the field trying to keep up with Veloce and other teams at the top. What followed was an unusual series where every game was a shutout by one side or the other. In game one, former Golden Hawk GCR710, who played in the inaugural season of the Rival Series, led the way with two goals on two shots and an assist in a convincing 3-0 win for ARG. Method's Borito B responded with a hat trick on perfect 3-for-3 shooting in game two to tie the series. Those would be the only goals in the match for Method, however, as ARG limited the Rival Series veterans to just five shots over the final two games, and picked up 1-0 and 2-0 shutouts to secure its first win of the season, and GCR710's first match victory in his ninth Rival Series match.

With the high expectations placed on both Veloce and compLexity, anything short of an all-time classic between the two league favorites would have been considered a disappointment. The teams exceeded that standard as yet again Veloce was forced to play three extra periods in its second match of the day. FlamE would be the only player without a goal or shot in the first game - a 3-2 overtime win for compLexity which featured a combined 16 shots on goal. FlamE did score in game two, as did his teammates FreaKii and Nielskoek, to take the second game in overtime and level the series. After that FlamE would be the only goal scorer for Veloce, outscoring compLexity 4-1 in the final two games with an overtime winner in game three, and neutralizing the opposition in the process, and establishing a 4-0 record for Veloce. Mognus, gReazymeister and the red-hot rookie Flakes all scored just two goals apiece in the series for compLexity in their only match of the day.

The final match of the main European stream featured the debut of Calix, Skyline and Bilbo as The Rightovers, and another five game series for Vikings. Despite being outshot 11-5, The Rightovers began its season with a dramatic equalizing goal from the rookie Bilbo as time expired, and an overtime winner from Calix. In game two, Vikings threw another eight shots at the opposing goal and managed one goal each from MummiSnow and Pwndx to pull even at one game apiece. MummiSnow took over with a pair of goals on six of his team's ten shots in game three, and consecutive 2-1 victories to reach match point. A full team effort from The Rightovers in game four resulted in a 3-2 win and forced a deciding fifth game to close out the broadcast. In that final game, Maestro recalled some of his magic from earlier in the day, completing his second hat trick with another game winner in overtime to secure a 3-2 score in the game and series, leaving Vikings within striking distance of a top two finish, and a spot in the Promotion Tournament at the end of the season as they hope to return to the RLCS.

Viewers who tuned in to the Rival Esports stream after the main show were treated to yet another exciting test of endurance for Veloce, as it was pushed to the limit by a desperate Method team trying to remain in contention for the Promotion Tournament. The teams traded shutouts in the first three games, with Veloce coming out ahead 2-1. Method punched back by frustrating Veloce with lockdown defense, as Borito B tallied five of his team's ten saves and record a 2-1 scoreline to force Veloce into its 14th game of the day. In that final game Nielskoek delivered the dagger as Veloce exploded for five goals, marking the first time in the former RLCS MVP's career he has scored two hat tricks in a single season. That effort killed off Method's upset threat, and left Veloce well in front of the rest of the league at 5-0 while Method finished the first two weeks at a disappointing 1-3. No team has lost three series and managed to finish in the top two to reach the Promotion Tournament.

Friday's finale appeared to be headed the same way as every other exciting match on the day, as The Rightovers and ARG played almost six minutes of overtime before ARG finally broke the tie with MaRc By 8's long range shot from the defensive third. The Spaniard followed that goal up with four assists in a 6-2 thrashing in game two, the sixth time a player has racked up four assists in a single Rival Series game. The record of five is held by Method's Rix Ronday alone two seasons ago against Triple Trouble. While the rookie Bilbo helped The Rightovers avoid a sweep with the only two goals of game three, ClayX dropped in four goals of his own in game four to close out the series as ARG marched to a 6-1 clincher.

After a chaotic second week of league play, Veloce stands alone at the top at 5-0 with 21 games played. That's almost as many games as compLexity and ARG combined, who are both sitting at 2-1 in second and third places respectively.

Vikings is alone in fourth place at 1-1 with an even 5-5 record following its lengthy Rival Series debut, just ahead of the idle Baguette Squad which finished last week at 1-2. Method rounds out the list of teams with only one win in sixth place at 1-3, while The Rightovers join ZeNoMoon at the bottom of the league with an 0-2 record.

Nielskoek and FlamE unsurprisingly lead the league with 19 and 18 goals apiece for Veloce, but compLexity's Flakes has the most goals per game, averaging 1.1 through his team's 10 games. FlamE and FreaKii are both tied with ARG's MaRc By 8 with 12 assists.

The Observer's Player of the Week is Maestro, who led the Vikings with the team's only two hat tricks, but also five savior medals for having at least three saves in a game. He leads the league after two weeks of play with an astonishing 2.5 saves per game, half a point clear of RizuaL and Extra of the Baguette Squad.

The Observer's Rookie Of The Week is MaRc By 8. The Spaniard netted five goals and ten assists on the day for ARG  including his four helpers in a game against The Rightovers en route to the first of a pair of blowout victories in the series.

Next week the French team Baguette Squad returns to action to face both Method and The Rightovers on the main stream. Both matches are must-win for all teams involved if they hope to keep pace with compLexity, ARG or Vikings. ARG will face its toughest test of the season as the Spanish squad takes on both Veloce and compLexity.

The Rightovers will fight for survival on the Rival Esports stream as it faces compLexity, while Vikings will play its only match of the week against a Method team whose season may effectively be finished by that point, pending other results on the day. It is possible for Veloce to have secured a place in the Promotion Tournament by the end of next week.