The Rocket League Championship Series spring split kicks off on Thursday, beginning the final third of the season. Yet RLCS teams look different since G2 Esports won the Winter Major on March 27 and the roster transfer window opened.
North America remained quiet after making some powerful moves back in January, but the other regions decided it was time for a shuffle. Here are the most notable roster changes going into the RLCS spring split, with its June major, which will take place in London.
Europe
Europe had a poor showing at the RLCS Winter Major. The teams many expected to do well saw early exits, while relative newcomers Team Queso were solely responsible for saving Europe’s dignity by making an impressive run through the lower bracket. To change that going forward, many teams decided to switch it up.
Team BDS: Seikoo replaces MaRc_By_8
After holding the title of strongest roster for well over a year and even winning the RLCS Fall Major back in December of 2021, the titans of Team BDS had a disappointing Winter Major. While they were one overtime goal away from defeating G2 Esports and going 3-0 in their group to claim an upper bracket spot, their final appearance in the lower bracket was one for the history books: FaZe Clan perfect swept Team BDS. Having failed to score a single goal in the entire series, Team BDS were sent home to lick their wounds and set their sights on making improvements.
They found that potential improvement in Team Endpoint’s Enzo “Seikoo” Grondein in place of Marc “MaRc_By_8.” Domingo. The Frenchman blasted onto the European scene on Endpoint the moment he turned the minimum age to play in the RLCS and was quickly named the best player in the world at that moment. So, it looks like they did good business indeed, even though MaRc_By_8 is far too good to warm the bench.
Team BDS line-up:
- Evan “M0nkey_M00n” Rogez
- Alex “Extra” Paoli
- Enzo “Seikoo” Grondein
Team Endpoint: Archie fills the void Seikoo left
Losing Seikoo is a hit for Team Endpoint, but if there is anyone capable of filling that void, it’s the talented Englishman, Archie “archie” Pickthall. The youngster was lauded for being one of the best players in RLCS Season X and continues to be heavily involved in his team’s goals. In fact, as Octane.gg statistician Finn “Finnerdt” Groothengel noted, Archie was ahead of even Seikoo in terms of goal participation, putting him in the No. 1 spot.
https://twitter.com/Finnerdt/status/1516387621215289345
Team Endpoint was already a strong performer this season despite their disappointing runs at the Fall and Winter Majors (top 8 and top 12 respectively). With Archie, they are expected to continue their strong form.
Team Endpoint line-up:
- Lucas “RelatingWave” Rose
- Otto “Metsanauris” Kaipiainen
- Archie “archie” Pickthall
Team Vitality: Fairy Peak! benched for Radosin
After barely scraping their way into the Fall Major (where they performed poorly) and not even getting close to qualifying for the Winter Major, it was clear the magic of Team Vitality had faded. In order to claw their way back to the top, the team benched legendary Victor “Fairy Peak!” Locquet to make room for Andrea “Radosin” Radovanović.
Radosin has been a strong player for Williams Resolve, who in turn signed Stake in an attempt to fill his shoes. Three-time RLCS World Champion Alexandre “Kaydop” Courant is now surrounded by teammates who have yet to win a World Championship, but their first outings together look good. They reached the final of the Dacia Spring Electric Tournament.
Team Vitality line-up:
- Alexandre “Kaydop” Courant
- Yanis “Alpha54” Champenois
- Andrea “Radosin” Radovanović
Karmine Corp: Noly for Stake
When Karmine Corp entered Rocket League, their roster looked promising. However, KC failed to qualify for both majors this season and only reached top 4 in one of the six regional events, so a change was necessary.
With Joseph “noly” Kidd in place of Ivan “D O R I T O # @” Ruiz Jiménez, their chances have reasonably improved. The Englishman came over from Guild Esports, a team that similarly has not impressed. Noly himself did not find out he was being replaced on Guild until he read it on Twitter, when Shift reported the news. However, it looks like he found a good home in KC anyway. KC will need a good run in the final split if they still want a shot at qualifying for the World Championships, though.
Karmine Corp line-up:
- Amine “itachi” Benayachi
- Maëllo “AztraL” Ernst
- Joseph “noly” Kidd
great finding out from shift 😌 https://t.co/iBS7obuNBs
— noly (@Nolystic) April 8, 2022
Other EU transfers:
Brice “ExoTiiK” Bigeard joins Thibault “Chausette45” Grzesiak and Andy “Kassio” Landais on SMPR to complete the fully French RLCS roster.
New talent Noah “noahsaki” Gillespie has been picked up by Jos “ViolentPanda” van Meurs and Maurice “Yukeo” Weihs on HEROIC.
Thomas “Tho.” Binkhorst, Ole “oaly.” van Doorn and Mike “Mikeboy”Verkuijlen reunited under the name suhhh. They previously played together to represent the Netherlands in the Olympic tie-in tournament Intel World Open, where they placed second behind France. They recently also defeated Team Vitality in the final of the Dacia Spring Electric Tournament, winning €15,000.
North America
North America made most of the impactful changes in January and reaped those rewards at the Winter Major. The region dominated the event, so the top teams all remained as is. However, there are a few notable changes.
Team Envy: Turbopolsa benched, coach Allushin steps in
Team Envy failed to qualify for the Winter Major, but not many would have expected RLCS legend Turbopolsa to get moved from the roster to the bench, let alone for the team coach Braxton “Allushin” Lagarec. Allushin was impressive on FaZe Clan at the Fall Major, but he joined Envy as a coach after he was replaced by Caden “Sypical” Pellegrin. It looks like being considered the GOAT of Rocket League is not a guarantee for a permanent starter spot anymore.
Team Envy line-up:
- Nick “mist” Costello
- Andres “dreaz” Jordan
- Braxton “Allushin” Lagarec
Ghost Gaming: Hockser in place of Roll Dizz
Raul “Roll Dizz” Diaz previously replaced playing with coaching. However, he soon returned to an RLCS starting roster and has remained active since. This time, he is the one being replaced by Colby “hockser” James, who came over from XSET. Ghost Gaming will need a strong spring in order to claim a Worlds spot.
Ghost Gaming line-up:
- Hunter “LionBlaze” Woitas
- Nathan “Shock” Frommelt
- Colby “hockser” James
Welcome @hockserRL officially to Ghost Gaming Rocket League!#GoingGhost pic.twitter.com/kreS5yCh10
— Ghost Gaming (@GhostGaming) April 18, 2022
Other changes:
Jalen “rapid” Parker swapped Rebellion for XSET. Daniel “jordan” Bholla replaces him on Rebellion. Meanwhile, Kadin “Zineel” Zineel takes jordan’s spot on Torrent. None of these rosters made it into the first RLCS regional event of the spring split after making their changes.
Asia
Tokyo Verdy: Sigms takes Kanra’s spot
Tokyo Verdy is by far the strongest team in APAC North and Asia as a whole. The Japanese team has tried to switch it up throughout the season and made another change ahead of the spring. They have picked up Isaac “sigms” Cooper, an American player residing in Japan. Sigms previously played for Hilltop Picnic alongside RLCS veteran Ryan “Doomsee” Graham, who also lives in Japan these days.
Toky Verdy line-up:
- Shogo “ReaLize” Ikeyama
- Tenhou “Tenhow” Igushi
- Isaac “sigms” Cooper
DeToNator: OLPiX out, Lunatic in
DeToNator made history twice in the span of a few weeks. First, they finished in third place in APAC North, but because second-place finishers Nimmt55 were unable to play at the Winter Major, DeToNator took their place in the qualifiers.
They proceeded to win this, beating Tokyo Verdy in the final to book their ticket to Los Angeles. Then, at the Winter Major, they won one game against FaZe Clan. It was the region’s first-ever game win at a Major. They still got sent home 0-3 in series score, but they could do so with their heads held high.
Regardless, DeToNator have decided to replace Kenyo “OLPiX” Ito with “Lunatic.” With an uphill battle against teams such Tokyo Verdy and Nimmt55, DeToNator are making changes in an attempt to make the path smoother. Meanwhile, OLPiX already moved up the hill as he joined Hilltop Picnic.
DeToNator line-up:
- Shoki “Burn” Minamigawa
- Shun “mikan” Yokota
- “Lunatic”
Gaimin Gladiators: Abscrazy replaces Kaotik
Gaimin Gladiators, previously known as 3RATS, are the strongest team in APAC South. However, after falling in the lower bracket final of the Winter Major Qualifier, they figured it was time for a change. The South-East Asians have one more shot to qualify for a Major this season, so they decided to pick up Abhai “Abscrazy” Ponna, who previously tended to finish just behind Gaimin Gladiators in regional events with his team.
Gaimin Gladiators line-up:
- Louis Christian “LCT” Thamrun
- Max “Maxeew” Ng
- Abhai “Abscrazy” Ponna
We are happy to officially announce the signing of @AbscrazyRL to our Rocket League roster. 🏎️💨
With this addition we hope to push to new levels and reach new goals. All eyes are on the Spring Major in which we look to earn our spot as APAC's #1 team. 🚀#AgainstAllOdds #GGRL pic.twitter.com/5kqZbuEIGh
— GG | Gaimin Gladiators ⚔️ (@GaiminGladiator) April 7, 2022
Other roster moves:
TripleJava has been revived by Rafi “Rafdoang13” Saputra, Jassen “Ficeo” Sandrio and Handy “Gon” Setiawan. All three have had reasonable results in APAC South in the past, ranging from top two to top eight finishes.
Anshul “Asphyx” Atreya, Jules “Kaotik” Blondel and Keanu “res” Adrian teamed up together to form Asphyx Minions. Res has had decent results in the past, while Kaotik won every RLCS APAC South Regional with 3RATS before he was replaced on the roster. Asphyx just got back from studying in North America and the team has a reasonable chance to upset the imbalance in APAC South.
Itsuki “Maru” Fukuda has found his way back onto Nimmt55. After switching to Tokyo Verdy and making it to the Fall Major, Maru took a break during the winter. He is now back on Nimmt55 for the spring, where he played before Tokyo Verdy. “Akikansu” moves to the bench.
South America
The Three Sins: revived
The Three Sins was a well-known name in RLCS Season 7 and 8, having made it to both world championships. In early 2021, both Matheus “matix” Rodrigues and Valter “valt” Junior called it quits. Matix made some appearances since then again, but they are now back together alongside Diogo “PJ” Sanches, who also played at a previous World Championship and made various main events earlier this season.
Lotus: revived
South America has revived Lotus with Bruno “Haberkamper” Haberkamp joining Antonio “FirefoxD” Schilling and Renan “renaN” Rossi de Oliveira. The three were household names in South America and renaN made it to Season 7 Worlds with Lowkey Esports. This season, all three players have not had incredible results but repeatedly showed up in the top eight of the regional events.
Oceania
Dire Wolves: Walcott out, Hawk in
Dire Wolves field a strong roster in the Oceanic RLCS. They tend to reach top four in regional events with the occasional win. They are currently fourth in Oceania, which is not enough for a Worlds spot. In an attempt to bring in the necessary points in the final stretch, Dire Wolves have released Daniel “Walcott” Hawkeswood and replaced him with Connor “Hawk” Baldock. Hawk is an upgrade on paper with better stats across the board, so OCE’s top three have another team to worry about.
Dire Wolves line-up:
- Ezequiel “Fiberr” Aranda-Lovito
- Gerry “Misty” Woods
- Connor “Hawk” Baldoc
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