This weekend some of the best Rocket League teams in the world will head to Minnesota to compete at X Games Minneapolis for a share of a $75,000 prize pool. The event, which will be streamed on ESPN3 and the ESPN App, is the first time Rocket League will be at the X Games.
Here's how the teams should stack up heading to the premier offseason tournament.
EnvyUs, formerly known as Northern Gaming, is the reigning world champ and will be looking to continue that impressive run in Minneapolis. Envy brings a lineup change to its first major Rocket League event with Marius "gReazymeister" Ranheim replacing Nicolai "Maestro" Bang. GReazy was recently released by FlipSid3 Tactics, and is returning to play alongside Remco "Remkoe" den Boer. The move appears to be as a substitute since Maestro is not attending the event. GReazy stepping in shouldn't change a lot for Envy, so expect a solid squad that will contend for the title.
FlipSid3 Tactics will also be attending on the back of its impressive win at Dreamhack Sweden. To fill in the shoes of recently released gReazy, FlipSid3 has recruited Rocket League Championship Series runner-up David "Miztik" Lawrie. FlipSid3 will be flying high and looking to continue its impressive offseason run into RLCS Season 4. Expect a top-tier performance from the former kings of Europe, led by Mark "Markydooda" Exton and Francesco "Kuxir97" Cinquemani.
The third European team is the new "superteam" formed by Gale Force Esports. Led by superstar Courant "Kaydop" Alexandre and filled in with RLCS champion Pierre "Turbopolsa" Silfver and Jos "ViolentPanda" van Meurs, Gale Force has been turning heads in weekly tournaments.
The Final European team attending the X Games will be The Leftovers, which has decided to try out a new member in Kasper "Pwndx" Nielsen, one of the highest-rated free agents currently available. This relegates fan favorite Victor "Ferra" Francal to the bench, but, according to tweets from the team, the move is not permanent yet. This roster definitely has the potential to go far, but with a new member anything is possible.
Moving onto the North American teams we have G2 Esports. G2 comes to this tournament off its solid victory in the Brisk Summer Series 1, with an impressive performance -- especially from Dillon "Rizzo" Rizzo. G2 will look to keep that momentum going, but, with the addition of the European giants, this will be the first true test of a revitalized lineup. Whether G2 can truly compete for the title will rest on the back of Rizzo.
Next up are the RLCS bronze medalists, NRG Esports. Coming in with an unchanged roster, NRG looks to be the most promising team in North America. Despite its somewhat uninspiring offseason, NRG should turn up for this and should return to its RLCS level. NRG will truly rely on Garrett "GarrettG" Gordon playing at his best to push for a title here. Expect another steady performance from Jayson "Fireburner" Nunez and Jacob "Jacob" McDowell, as well.
The third team from North America is the rising star and crowd favorite Rogue. With the addition of Isaac "Turtle" App, the dynamic duo of Matt "Matt" Dixon and Emiliano "Sizz" Benny have truly come into their own under the Rogue banner. Forming under the name "Atelier" during RLCS Season 3, Rogue has shot to the top, having a decent run at the RLCS Season 3 World Championship. Following that with a playoff run at Dreamhack Sweden leaves Rogue looking good going into X Games, but perhaps below the level of the top teams attending.
The final North American team is Selfless, bringing in a new face in Kyle "Torment" Storer. If he can mesh well with his teammates, especially Chris "Dappur" Mendoza, this new Selfless roster could truly be a giant killer. Torment has been tearing up the weekly tournament scene in North America alongside Dappur, taking games off teams such as NRG. This tournament will be our first chance to see how well Selfless can play against the big teams with a full roster, having played most of the world championship with a sub. Selfless is hard to place, but, barring a miracle, it should struggle at the X Games.