Play or Bench: RLCS Season 6 World Championship

The 10 teams competing are Dignitas, We Dem Girlz, FlipSid3 Tactics, PSG Esports, NRG Esports, G2 Esports, Cloud9, Evil Geniuses, Tainted Minds, and The Chiefs Esports Club. There are four teams from Europe and North America, while two teams are from the Oceania region. The prize pool for the RLCS Season 6 World Championship is $500,000 with the top team winning $200,000.

The format for the World Championship is double elimination with all games being best-of-five except for the winners’ final, losers’ final, and grand finals being best-of-seven.

The ‘Play or Bench’ series is where I will discuss teams I’m high on or low on as they enter a tournament. ‘Play’ teams are ones I expect to win the tournament, while ‘Bench’ teams are ones I think will underperform.

RLCS Season 6 World Championship – Play

Dignitas: I would be an absolute fool if I didn’t put Dignitas as my first play team. They’re the best team in the world for Rocket League and have proved it numerous times. Dignitas went undefeated in league play in Europe by winning 21 of 25 rounds. The team went on to defeat PSG Esports 4-2 in the semifinals and swept We Dem Girlz, 4-0, in the finals of the European playoffs. Dignitas is set up for an easy run on the finals. They face the winners of the match between Evil Geniuses-Tainted Minds in the quarterfinals. Barring an upset, Dignitas will then play the winner of G2 Esports and FlipSide3 Tactics. I expect Dignitas to make the Grand Finals and potentially win the championship.

NRG Esports: NRG always comes up clutch when the pressure is on, and it showed during the North American playoffs. NRG earned the No. 1 seed in North America after defeating FlyQuest, Cloud9, and G2 Esports in the playoffs. It’s tough to bet against this team, especially if you look at their history. The group of Fireburner, JSTN, and GarrettG came within one goal of winning RLCS Season 5. It took a heroic effort from JSTN to push game seven against Dignitas to overtime, but they were so close to winning it all. NRG is set up to repeat, learn from its mistakes, and potentially win it all this season.

We Dem Girlz: Picking WDG might be a surprise to some, but I think they’re an underdog at the World Championship. We Dem Girlz earns a tough match-up in the quarterfinals against Cloud9. However, C9 is a vulnerable team now since they have something to prove after recent performances. The trio of Remkoe, Eyelgnite, and Mesanauris have been performing well of late, which earned them the second-seed from Europe. I won’t be surprised if they upset Cloud9 and play NRG tough in the semifinals.

RLCS Season 6 World Championship – Bench

FlipSid3 Tactics: I haven’t been high on FlipSid3 Tactics at all this season, despite their record during European play. I placed FlipSid3 as one of the bench teams in the RLCS Season 6 Regional Championship, and they proved me right. The team was second in Europe until the playoffs where they lost to We Dem Girlz in the semifinals. FlipSid3 is matched up against G2 Esports in the quarterfinals of the RLCS Season 6 World Championships. G2 is talented with Kronovi, Rizzo, and JKnaps. It’s going to be a tough matchup. Expect FlipSid3 to head to the losers’ bracket.

Cloud9: Putting Cloud9 as a bench team was a tough decision. However, they continue to underperform at important tournaments. The trio of SquishyMuffinz, Torment, and Gimmick are considered one of the best teams in Rocket League, but what have they done lately? Cloud9 had the best record during the RLCS Season 6 North America qualification but failed to finish top two after a semifinal exit against NRG Esports in the NA Playoffs. To take this one step further, Cloud9 was a heavy favorite in RLCS Season 5 and only finished fourth. I hope Cloud9 can prove me wrong, but I don’t expect them to make it far. I won’t be shocked if they lose to We Dem Girlz in the quarterfinals.

PSG Esports: PSG is arguably lucky to be at the RLCS Season 6 World Championship as the fourth team from Europe. They had a 3-4 record in regular season play in Europe but pulled off an upset over Renault Vitality to move on. The French side earned what I think is the tougher draw of the Round of 10 matchups by facing The Chiefs Esports Club from the Oceania region. The Chiefs might’ve finished second in Oceania but went 6-1 in league play. PSG must have a clean game to prevent the upset, but I don’t see it happening.