RLCS Week 3 NA & EU Preview: The Time Travelling Years

This season of the Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS) is shaping up to be one of the most exciting and unpredictable yet. 

In Week 2 Soniqs showed what they are capable of with their defeat of Spacestation Gaming, Team Singularity made everyone sit up and take notice with their takedown of Team Vitality and can anyone pass the ball like Dignitas?

It’s all set up Week 3 nicely - teams are finding their groove, stories are emerging and Flakes keeps meme’ing with his car selections. 

We are also in the fortunate position of getting an extra game this week. Psyonix announced the rescheduling to account for the delayed start to the season meaning Week 4's matches were moved to this weekend.

So with more action than expected, we shouldn't wait around so here is a look at this weekend's North America and Europe league play matches.

Missed out on Week 2? Get caught up with our weekly recap.

North America

We start off Week 3 with a bottom of the table clash Cloud9 vs Flight (how that must hurt to hear for fans of Cloud9). No disrespect to Flight but all eyes will be on Cloud 9 for this match, if they lose here a bad start becomes a disaster and with Flight being arguably the worst team in the league any fear teams have of facing Cloud9 would evaporate.

For Cloud9 to win, Kyle "Torment" Storer needs up his game, he has been poor at both ends of the pitch and after his post-game comments on Twitter, it's clear he is lacking confidence.

That’s why Flight are the best team they could hope for. Also winless, they haven’t really impressed since their first couple of games against Pittsburgh Knights in Week 1. 

Prediction Cloud9 3-0 Flight

The next tie is mouthwatering. A Rogue side on the up led by Cameron "Kronovi" Bills who is clearly fired up by their new signing Jason "firstkiller" Corral going up against the Susquehanna Soniqs who in, Nathan "Shock" Frommelt, have an early (okay, very early) contender for Player of the Season. 

This game is a close one to call. Soniqs looked like a real team against Spacestation Gaming in Week 2 and almost caught a sleeping NRG out in Week 1. They are functional if not exactly spectacular and they have shown enough in the season to make the case that the chances of them going down are slim. Rogue has a higher ceiling though, and as firstkiller gets more attune to his teammates they can do some real damage to teams.

Prediction Rogue 3-2 Susquehanna Soniqs

Flight in action again, and facing the in-form G2 - a tough game for any side at the moment but you have to feel for Flight, they could end week 3 with a 0-4 record and they probably will - you look at their roster and you have to ask where the goals are coming from. This G2 side is at the top of the table for a reason, losing only one game all season and there is a feeling they had to get out of second gear  - their passing play is the best in the league, and the only way you will beat them is outscoring them. 

It’s hard to pick out one player for praise from this G2 roster but Dillon “Rizzo” Rizzo has been phenomenal. An unbelievably well-rounded player and if he’s at his best it’ll be an easy win for the high flying side.
 

Prediction G2 3-0 Flights

NRG head into their potentially trick match against eUnited with confidence after dispatching Flights 3-0 in Week 2. Any suggestion that NRG weren’t at the level they were at last season was dispelled with that match. Pierre “Turbopolsa” Silfver pulled the strings, Justin â€œJSTN” Morales gave their attack an unpredictability and Garrett “GarrettG” Gordon performances are as reliable as a rainy day in Scotland.

eUnited meanwhile looked lacklustre in their 3-0 defeat to Ghost Gaming - their best player, Jackson “ayjacks” Carter, is inconsistent and their attacking fortunes lie in him popping off. Stop him, or catch him on an off day and they are in trouble.

Prediction NRG 3-1 eUnited

Anyone who says their confident predicting this next match is lying. Both teams head into the game with a 1-1 record and both made roster moves in the off-season that have yet to fully convince. 
One of those roster moves has a particular resonance for this game as Ghost Gaming’s new signing Nick “Mist” Costello left the Pittsburgh Knights, after a successful season by most standards, believing that his Rocket League career was best-served elsewhere.

His replacement Austin “Ayyjayy” Aebi hasn’t convinced yet, but there will be no better time to prove to his teammates that Mist’s itchy feet was a blessing in disguise. Mist played well last week against eUnited and his goals made him arguably MVP of that series. He’ll want to show his old team just what they’re missing.

Predictions Pittsburgh Knights 3-2 Ghost Gaming

To end the day we will have again NRG take to the field, this time against Spacestation Gaming. SSG was dispatched by Soniqs last weekend, and they will dread coming up against an NRG side who will be warm heading in from their early game against Flight.

But make no mistake SSG have everything to beat NRG. In Alexandre “AxB” Bellemare, Tshaka “Arsenal” and Caden “Sypical” Pellegrin they have a lightning-quick attack, the key to victory will be hitting NRG in the transitions. But that's easier said than done.

Prediction NRG 3-2 Spacestation Gaming

Europe

Kicking off the European action will be Dignitas vs Team Singularity. Dignitas have looked phenomenal this season, their passing play is out of this world and while Team Singularity looked good (sorry, really good) in their shock 3-2 win against Renault Vitality, Dignitas should ultimately have too much for them.

Maurice “Yukeo” Weihs, Maello “AztraL” Ernst and Jos “ViolentPanda” van Meurs are making a mockery of anyone who suggests that the meta is now “braindead” - they pass the ball about with such speed and precision - it all looks so effortless. AztraL needs to be picked out for particular praise. His passes are cute, constantly finding his teammate in space and making the opposition constantly second guess what’s going to happen.

Prediction Dignitas 3-1 Team Singularity

It’s the battle of the bottom two and a match that could decide the fate of both of these sides. Neither has had the easiest start and both have yet to win a match but I think ultimately AS Monaco with the goals of Alex “Extra” Paoli and experience of Jordan “Eyeignite” Stellon will be enough to give them the edge over Endpoint. 

Prediction AS Monaco 3-1 Endpoint

Team Singularity finds themselves back in action against Mousesports and in a game that they have a much better chance of winning. Mousesports looked disjointed in their loss against Team Reciprocity last week and it's fair to say their a good side but not a great one - yet - with work to be done to cut out needless defensive mistakes.

Team Singularity will still be buzzing after their Week 2 victory, even if they do lose against Dignitas and you feel that that will look at these weekends as a success if they pick up a win.

They showed last week they fear no one and Joesph "noly" Kidd and co. could find it here.

Prediction Team Singularity 3-2 Mouseports

You have to fear for TSM, coming off the back of two defeats and going up against a Renault Vitality side who will want to quickly right the wrong of last week’s loss against Team Singularity. 

Let’s be frank TSM look poor, Veloce Esports systemically dismantled them last weekend and their current roster lacks goalscorers. You never want to say it will be easy for a team but Vitality look at this game as the perfect opportunity to get them back to winning ways.

Prediction Renault Vitality 3-0 TSM

Team Reciprocity vs Veloce Esports, top of the league vs the team everyone hates because they win without looking like their ever going to win. You have to wonder when Veloce will start receiving the respect they deserve, from some of the discourse around them you would think every goal they have scored since coming up to the RLCS was an own goal. 

But last season they finished 3rd defeating Team Reciprocity in the process, one of only two sides to do so.

A win here might finally start convincing people this roster is the real deal.

Prediction Team Reciprocity 2-3 Veloce Esports

A mouth-watering tie to wrap up the weekend’s action Renault Vitality vs FC Barcelona. 

Barca’s Hrant “Flakes” Yakoub was everywhere last week - a hattrick one game, 5 saves in another - all the while playing cars that aren’t meta. His teammates Aldin “Ronaky” Hodzic and David “Deevo” Morrow also look comfortable and were starting to see shades of the Barca side that shook up the league when they came into the RLCS in Season 7.

Renault Vitality will look at this game as a chance to make up the ground they lost in their defeat to Team Singularity. 

Barca will see as a chance to damage a title rival.

Prediction Renault Vitality 2-3 FC Barcelona

How To Watch RLCS Season 9 Week 2

You can watch all the weekend's games on the official Rocket League Twitch and YouTube channels. 

Schedule

• North America League Play - Saturday 22 at 11:30 a.m. PST (7:30 p.m. UTC)
• Europe League Play - Sunday 23 at 8:30 a.m. PST (4:30 p.m. UTC)