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Welcome to first touch. That was space station gaming's reaction to winning in a open for this
past weekend, but we're going to talk about that and so much more today. We're going to
talk about things going on and mean it. We'll take a little preview on your, but we
got to introduce the panel is Dazzar and roll days and Gibbs going on Gibbs in place of
T-Bates for today's show. Gibbs, welcome to the show. I mean, how you doing?
They're good. I invaded teammates' bedroom or wherever he does his feed from, so you watch.
I'll slide out of the way real quick. This is called editing the right things, so.
I have teammates captured, and yeah, I'm taking over his spot.
You know, we're gonna just be highlighting North America, talking about how they're the greatest region ever,
because you know, of course, the world champions lost, so that means there's two greatest teams of all time now in North America,
So I'm excited to get to it.
I'll even, you know, I'll pop on my little LSU hooded here real quick.
And you know,
it's like you replace the yapper for another yapper.
But I didn't expect Gibbs to go a lot with this.
You got the shit and everything.
Oh, gosh. Well, listen, I'm excited to have you.
Gibbs is not the only guest we have today.
We have to bring in another Yapper, the almost Mr. NRG himself, James bot here to join us
on the show today.
James, welcome to the show.
Hey, thanks for having me.
I appreciate it.
Yeah, man.
It's great to, great to have you guys all here today.
Let's, let's jump right into it though.
SSG have left off at space station, gave me winning in a open for defeating NRG for
two in the grand finals after losing to them in the upper bracket matchup where
they got reverse swept, they ended up meeting in the grand finals and getting the wind there.
Let's take a look at those NRG versus SSG highlights as soon as we can. I mean, who do
I go to first? James, I'm going to you NRG, your team lost to space station gaming. Talk
to me about it.
Well, if you know anything about NRG's history is that they always come up one short
of a three Pete. So I'm expecting them to win the next two. But in all seriousness,
I think SSG, this is really a cool story.
Basically, you got Scribbles following the Beast Mode arc
of the feigned death, the fake retirement
into being a great team.
And so it's cool to see, but I will say this.
I think that there's a bit of a crisis in North America.
And I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing,
but I honestly look at this result,
I look at what's going on.
I don't feel great about NA.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
We might have to have had that.
Is that because your team lost?
Yeah, right?
Like, every team loses a point.
It's not.
No, I think, I mean, I am like, I want Virtus.Pro to be better.
I want Shopify Rebellion to be better.
We have Scribbles who wasn't even playing RLCS level
competition, comes back and wins a regional.
Like, how does that make you feel?
I mean, honestly, you have a point that is kind of crazy
that a kid could go away from competitive rockin' league
for six months, come back and win a regional.
Like that should, that should.
What's that happen?
Yeah, it should light a fire on their like
top of five rebellions, the Virtus. Pros.
But like, I agree with you 100%.
But this team are like space station was already like
kind of proven their ascendancy in North America
when Scribbles was playing.
And the kid never stopped playing the game.
clearly he never played he never stopped playing the game so honestly it shouldn't really be
that surprising it's surprising how well he played in the finals to me personally because
I think he was amazing I think he was the MVP of the grand finals for space station
in my opinion I just think he did too much and he was too vital for them but it is kind
of crazy that he was going for six months and they're already performing better than
the other teams I agree with that.
I'm taking nothing away from SSG as well like I think I think that you know this
This is a great team.
I love this team.
I think this team fully capable of performing well,
regionally, internationally.
I think there's going to be a bit of a question mark
because just we've seen some crazy series
involving the young players from SSG.
But I think overall, if they can bring the same level
of play that they play regionally
to international competition,
they're going to be really tough to beat.
And I think Diaz as well,
like this whole team of SSG
where I think they really excel
is their speed on defense.
If you look at any other team versus North America,
they cannot contain NRG.
NRG has such a heavy misdirection style
where they're going for so many fakes,
so many extra layers to their attack,
whether it's a fake or just a leave
or rotating out moving up field.
They have so much misdirection in their gameplay
and they play at a pace that no one can keep up.
That's not the case with Space Station.
They're keeping up, they're shutting down plays
before they get started.
not letting NRG get away with those misdirection plays and it's that's why
there's the only team really that I think held a candle to NRG this weekend.
Yeah, Shopify Rebellion almost pulled off a crazy, you know, comeback.
But like you see that from NRG where they let off the gas.
I just felt like there was really no other team as an NRG fan that
really could keep up at all, not even close.
Give you agree.
So I liked what I saw on a space station and I don't think
it's like necessarily panic mode yet.
The issue is, because now I have to cast, right?
So normally like if I'm on desk,
I'm like, oh, that was a sloppy match, right?
And I try to be more positive and cast,
but I caught myself multiple times throughout the weekend.
It was like, it's been a sloppy few games here
in North America, and that keeps kind of happening.
So I do feel like North America,
maybe it wasn't their best open.
It's the first open though as well.
Space Station was fantastic though.
Again, it comes down to the international play.
They'll definitely be there now,
after a regional win. It's very hard to not make it. Zach, though, that was a great match for him
because the one thing you can't replicate is playing Rock League where all the pressure's on,
like in the finals, like while you're retired. They play against Energy in the finals, who Energy
does not lose finals. They do drop out of tournaments before finals, but when they get to the
finals, I think they won seven in a row. So when it's those high pressure moments, and
And we've seen it in international play as well, like energy finds ways to win.
So it was a huge win for space station.
But yes, I do agree with James, though, everyone else in N.A.
A little bit lackluster here, like in open four.
And I think they're all going to be trying to pick up those pieces
because now also that's one of those spots gone.
Everyone expects energy to be at the major space station
very likely just clinched their spots.
So there's only two spots open for maybe, you know, there's
probably like four or five teams that are in the running for that.
So they gotta figure it out quick.
Yeah. You're right.
Only two more opens left until Paris.
And then you gotta, if you're not at Paris,
then you gotta start looking towards LCKU potentially
depends on what's going on.
But yeah, I mean, big progress to SSG,
they beat the teams that were in front of them.
They almost took down NRG twice.
But again, they got the job done at the grand finals.
And that's what matters at the end of the day.
Now, take a look at the rest of North America
we're bringing up these questions. We need to dive into it. This was a very chaotic start
if you compare how things look toward the end, towards Boston Major to now with Virtus.pro and
Gen.G failing to make top eight. Let's take a look at the NA Open 4 bracket and then also afterwards
look, take a look at the point standings. Of course, if you missed it, Paris Major Open 4,
This is what these were the playoffs. You're missing Virtus Pro. You're missing, I think,
Dignitas and you're missing G&G. You have Foot making their first top four finish.
I actually liked Foot. Like that is maybe one of the shining
pieces from this weekend for me. I'm sorry to interrupt.
No, no, you're fine. You're fine. Like I said, Foot top four. You have M80 top six,
which strictly business. Next to new almost that was actually a almost interesting result there going
seven games with Shopify Rebellion. But not something you would normally see here in a
in a open world there's I mean what what is the reactions here to the bracket?
I honestly it's extreme disappointment in a team like Virtus.Pro who was
is making themselves a name stay in the top of North America.
Now you're looking at them, and you're not sure what
to believe right now, whether if they were just peeking
or they were having a honeymoon phase, which you really
hate to bring up in situations like this.
Because when you watch a team like British Pro,
especially in the first couple
of international competitions, they
look like a roster that was going to kind of be there.
Like they looked like they meant business.
They were going to take it to some of these top teams.
And they were taking it to some of these top teams.
But coming into this split, obviously,
Dignitas has no slops to even play against.
So going up against them, and then they play Shopify.
So they had a rough pool.
Like Dignitas is not a team you really
want to play in the first round.
That's a team that easily could take it to one
of our top teams.
It's like a dark horse in North America, in my opinion.
But you still have to win that if you're Redis Pro.
You're still a top five team in North America.
In a lot of people's eyes, you have to win that in order to make it.
But if they even beat Diggs and Tawhis,
were they going to beat Foot playing like they were going to play?
Like that's also a question because Foot was also balling out of their minds.
So I think for me, the biggest question coming out of this is Foot.
Like, is Foot going to be consistent or are they also on a honeymoon?
So that's kind of like my question.
I don't think so.
I think Foot's the real deal, man.
I think for me, cheese was always the truth
on that Gen G squad as well.
Like I think cheese to me is such an amazing player.
And I think this team is the best team that he's had yet.
I think like this, I don't,
and I think that the consistency of chronic as well.
You, and cheese is also so consistent.
He's so good.
And I think Justin still got it, man.
And he's, there's a reason why he's still up here
in North America, one of the greatest players of all time.
So I, I'm a big believer in foot.
I actually put a, like I would take foot
over rebellion right now.
I would put an SSG in and then I'd do top, then foot, and then her belt.
You could call me crazy, but I feel like, you know, there is, you know, maybe you took
a look at player for player, yeah, talent wise, maybe SSG is above them.
A lot of people would probably feel that way.
But I think there is that X factor, the intangibles that comes into a team being successful.
And I think that foot will have this dynamic.
I think that this is a team that is going to have that extra bit of intangible, you
know, positive synergy that can push them ahead of a rebellion.
So although I said, you know, I think for me, when I said, you know, I'm not feeling
great about North America, what I'm talking about is Gen G, Virtus Pro, and honestly
Shopify Rebellion.
I wanted to see more from all of those teams, but for from foot, this is actually
something that makes me feel quite positive and I want to see more foot.
I think even the way they were playing, super entertaining.
And this is a team that you can't help but love.
In my opinion, it's just one of those teams
that me who's been watching North America for a long time,
I don't think there's anything to dislike about this team.
I love foot and I want to see more.
Really quick, I think one of those members on the team
used to be on energy.
So I'm just going to put a little disclosure here
for the team spot.
Bro, that was a long time ago.
Yeah, but still that love is there.
But no, yes, they are a very likable team.
I think they had a great first open.
I didn't see it twice, to put them above a rebellion.
That's just how I see it.
I like that game.
Yeah, VP though, VP, I feel like Split One MVP,
like outside of energy players, was talk, right?
He performed so exceptionally well in Split One,
and if he doesn't do exactly that again,
I am concerned for VP,
because I did feel like they were right
in his coattails a little bit there.
So if he comes back down to normalcy,
VP's gonna be in a little bit of trouble, but that's there. I have a question for you. Oh, that's okay. Good. No, good. No, I want to hear the question
All right, so rebellion. I saw you tweeting about that. You like this new play style and you think it's gonna work
Even in the cofer interview. He's like, yeah, we're playing more aggressive. I didn't see it
I saw cofer moving up a little bit more that he normally does but the whole team
I felt like they were still playing way too passive. They were going for some boost deals here or there versus
uh, next to new, but besides that, it just felt like very passive third man, they kind
of just bled the clock dry. They were getting early lead on kickoffs and then they didn't
do a lot with it. So what do you see in them with this new play style?
So if you go back to last episode of first touch, Wolders was there. I said it. I didn't
see rebellion being the number two NNA. I didn't like how their play style looked
leading, leading from Boston. Now, one of the biggest things, and I'll, you know, I'll
go on record. Some of the players, they got mad at me for saying this or rebellion. I
said they were playing a little too much solo ball back in Boston. Matter of fact, I think
you were there when one of them got mad at me.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But he also said he loves me. So I was happy. So whatever, man.
That being said, I look at this regional event and I say, okay, they are starting.
You're starting to see them connect more.
You're starting to see them pass.
And you're starting to see like that, that change.
There's an obvious change in the play style.
And it's so obvious.
In fact, that gives, I think you're right.
I do think they look slower.
I do not expect at this, like I didn't expect in that regional event,
rebellion to make it to the final or to win the event.
But I saw the potential. I saw that. Okay. This is a good start.
This is clearly something that is going to take time and getting used to.
Kofor may feel like he's playing more aggressive because now the new style
probably allows him to play how he may want to. So he's moving more up the
field better. But I think for everyone else it is very obvious that
rebellion are not moving as fast as they used to move because when they
were just kind of playing for each other. Then they were just doing what came natural
to them instead of like having to like passively think about giving each other the ball. I think
in time they'll look more dangerous. Like, you know, they qualify for Paris by the time
that Paris comes around, they'll be ready for that. That's how I feel. But I feel
like right now I would not expect rebellion. Maybe regional or open six. Maybe they can
win that I don't expect them to win anything until then because I think right now they're
refining their work. Yeah, that makes sense. Like I think like it makes a lot of sense to
have a work in progress because obviously like after what we saw in Boston, they're not going to win
anything playing that way, right? So I like the idea of trying to figure it out and also North
America. Like you have a little bit of leniency I feel like to probably make top four while
you're working on stuff. So like I like the look like I like some parts of it, but at the
same time, I still feel like maybe it's a bit too passive. I'm not a big fan of like you
scored two goals early and you just sit on the lead. But at the same time, like it wins
games and they got top four anyway.
Right. That's fair. I want to jump back though to James, because James, you said something
absolutely, I think was blasphemous. And you, where do you have this foot team ranked?
I got a number three. I've got a number three right now, honestly.
And I've got rebellion at number four.
So I've got, I would still put NRG at number one, obviously, right?
You know, you got to, I feel like they've done enough to prove that they can, you know,
they can take some time off and still make finals and come close.
But I would put SSG number two right now.
I just think the way they play the game is just so rock solid.
They have such good players like Diaz without a doubt,
the best ones player in North America and that brings a capability on defense that is
just top tier. And so they're so hard to score on. I don't think NRG scored maybe like maybe
one game they scored more than three goals or more than two goals for all those games
they played against SSG. The lockdown defense was there. But I think SSG, NRG, then I
would put foot and then I would put rebellion. I think rebellion has the talent to fight
for the top two spot. They've shown that. I think a bit of a recurring theme from what
we've seen with the LJ and first killer rosters, they're amazing players, right? You just look
at them in a silo. You just look at them in isolation. They are the best of the best.
But they just lack that extra bit of synergy that makes teams like NRG win international
It's I don't know what you can do to address something like that, but if you look at the way NRG plays as a team
Individually, yeah, all the all the players on NRG
Maybe you know you can make an argument that Daniel can do things first killer camp
But for the most part I think like LJ first killer can do everything mechanically if not more than everybody on NRG
It is that extra layer of synergy that I think can be way more meaningful than just being really good at the game individually
And that was a lot of yeah, I don't listen I would just tell it to tell it like it is
Listen, I know I know
Listen, I know foot. I know cheese. Listen cheese and Adam specifically don't take this personally. What about what I'm about to say
There is a block here that is coming for foot
I don't like that. I cannot allow you to power right in this hot one based on their bracket and
And two, based on the fact that this roster fully formed, I think until proven otherwise
that the, this is a vibe tribe squad. The vibes are good right now. Everybody's on a new team.
Everybody's happy. Rawl. We can all do, you know, we can all do what we want. We can
all play ball, but we don't have expectations. Why don't we have expectations? We made a
roster change. We lost all the points coming into halfway through the season. So if
If it doesn't work out, we can play towards the kids.
I disagree with that so much.
I think as soon as the pressure is on,
and as soon as they start having expectations,
that's when you're gonna see them drop.
Dude, I think the opposite.
I think that all these players
are getting to the point in their career
where if they have a bad split,
like it's very dangerous for them
in terms of what offers are gonna be on the table.
I think, especially, you look at all of them,
You know, even cheese with foot, this last split was basically a team of leftovers.
And this is the way I saw it.
Maybe I'm a little bit crazy, but I feel like the pressure for this
foot team is on right from the get-go.
Like they have a good org.
They, like they have solid players, but it's not one of those teams
where it's like, this is going to be a winning team.
This is going to be a major team.
You have to have faith in this team.
Yes, they got that ability.
But I think the pressure was on from the very get-go.
And I think this event was a huge test and for me, it transformed me into a believer because I personally feel like, you know, with these, and obviously, you know, you can take what I say with a grain of salt, I'm just a commentator, right?
But I think that these...
Oh, I was going to say, you're not the only person who's had this opinion. Listen, I did a watch party over the weekend, and maybe Nick came on the watch party, said he's had foot was number two right now.
So he had them higher than you. This is like another coach in the game.
Yeah, I know about number two.
I agree. Like I just think like for my big thing was I don't think that this is one of those situations where it's a honeymooning team and they're performing well because they don't feel the pressure.
I think with these guys like they're like my whole like the next year or more of my time as a pro is going to be determined by this very split like this split is it.
I have to prove my worth.
I have to show what I'm capable of because when it comes to, you know,
next year, what offers are going to be coming my way from the big orgs.
Cause that's what you see a lot with pros that decide to hang it up.
It's not that they're going to have no offers.
It's that they go from a certain tier of offer down to another tier of offer,
which is just in their opinion, not worth the time.
And so I think when you have results and like this is the boat that I
think rises in right now is that you have been on,
you've gotten a lot of really good offers,
but the offers are going to start going a little bit down.
You're going from the top tier, maybe a little bit lower
to a little bit lower, but then there seems to be a cliff
where once you fail to prove your worth at this level,
boom, those big offers stop coming through
and you are now in a position where you have to fight
your way back up.
And a lot of times that's such a huge hurdle
that a lot of people don't even wanna try to tackle it
in my opinion.
Yeah, but I agree there too.
I feel like when you have a team or a player
that's in tier two, they can play five years rockedly
because if they're always in tier two,
they're always trying to get to tier one.
But if you have a tier one player that drops to tier two,
they're going to retire.
I'm not talking about tears, man.
You're going to get in trouble.
But you're going to get.
You remember that where they told you,
get stop calling three teams.
The arts, you know, sometimes they are,
and you know, North America, tier two region.
All right, sorry.
It's just the way it is.
But we'll see what happens.
But yes, I agree with you, James,
that players will retire sooner,
like if they were in tier one and then drop to a tier two
because they just feel like it's not worth their time.
And they don't have the fight.
They don't have the fight to try and get back into tier one
compared to, well, if you've never tasted it,
well, you've never been to a major,
then you're always going to be fighting for it.
And what you got, though, this is us just thinking,
like, we don't want Justin to retire, which I agree.
I don't really want Justin to retire either.
But I don't really like this whole conversation
we're on right now because it kind of just
leads you down a pathway that players really
don't care about the team's performance. They're kind of just caring about their own performance
to get a better look from a better Oregon, a better offer. But if you really have the
confidence in this team, James, third place should really be competing for major. Why do
they need to boost their stocks for other organizations? Why can't they just be floating
and winning?
That's not what I'm saying. That wasn't my point. That wasn't my point. My point
was was mainly that I think that with this team, the players are in a position where they are they
have that maximum amount of pressure. Like I think they're playing where they feel like this is my
career that I'm playing for. Like I like that's that was my point. I'm not saying that they're
playing for themselves or anything. I was just making the point that I don't think this is
one of those situations where foot is coming into this weekend with a light load thinking,
you know, we have time to figure things out. You know, we're just gonna, you know,
have this honeymoon period where we feel like we're playing for, you know, just for fun where,
you know, there's the expectations aren't there. I don't like mid there may not be
community or spectator expectations on this team. But I think when you look at the players
individually, they have the expectations for themselves. And they are in that point where
they know they have to get the results. That was the only point I was making. I wasn't trying
to accuse the players of that's fair. That's fair. I think I listen, I'm saying this from
someone who would definitely enjoy seeing foot be successful.
I think those players individually have not had success at a top level
and a very long time.
So it would be great to see them kind of get over the hunt.
I just I don't know.
There's just something I believe her.
I think you're I think this is one of those teams where you got to have faith.
You have it or you don't man.
I think I believe.
All right.
I believe in this foot.
Guys Paris major like are they going because I would say they are going as
of right now I would give him fourth seed. But if not then then who? Right?
Virtus. And that would take a lot from Virtus at this point. They've just been on a downward slide since getting, is there a name for this effect where you get like a massive contract and then you just phone it in. I'm not saying that's what happened.
Uh, I think it's called the trolley complex, maybe, uh,
No, you just get a trolley box.
I've seen this in sports, right, where you, uh, player gets a massive contract,
and then they're just like, the pressure's off for a bit.
Uh, I think it's obvious that Virtus.Pro has the ability,
but when they were playing with no org, it felt like they were like
locked in, playing with everything.
Yes, and then once you get it, I mean, it's like, it's,
you can't really argue that the pressure, there's a lot less pressure,
And because I also think a little less motivation to try to do everything possible,
because they were probably burning the channel from both ends,
maybe to a level that just wasn't sustainable to be able to get to the level they were at.
But yeah, I think Virtus. Pro has got it.
I just don't know, man.
If they're kind of starting from the back foot,
it took NRG winning back to back regionals after missing out on top eight.
I don't think we'll see that from Virtus. Pro.
Okay. I mean that kind of begs the question. I mean the topic on screen,
Slutton Week or something more. So do you guys think that based on what we've seen,
that the four teams that we have on the docket right now NRG, SSG, Foot, Rebellion are going
to be your major teams? I would say yes. I think, I think so. I for sure think so. I think
I think the only possible difference would be Virtus Pro,
but Virtus Pro is just one bad bracket away
from having a terrible split.
Like when you have double elimination, GSL groups,
you've already seen what can happen.
So you just have, now it's a situation where if you're unlucky,
if you're Virtus Pro, it's just no shop.
But so I really like the top four we have right now.
Yeah, that quadrant that they had this time around
is foot, dig and toss, MVP, all in that same quadrant.
It really did feel like whoever comes out
quadrant has an insane shot at being that fourth seed for North America or possibly three seed,
but now that space station is one that's kind of like out of the table there. So I think it'll be
foot, but again, these groups can get incredibly weird very, very fast after the top 32 rounds. So
really just comes down to who gets a beneficial bracket and then if they actually make that
work because teams like Gen G, you know, they go three on Swiss beaten energy and
and then they can't get out of like the easiest group they probably ever had. So I don't know.
Yeah, we're all we're all here taking foot man. I don't have as much faith in foot as these guys do.
I have more faith in Vertus pro a team that one of the only teams you could look at last split and
and think that they can actually compete against NRG by the way. We completely forget about this
team but they are going through like a little bit of a sophomore slump. So it's kind of
understandable that there's not as much faith in these guys, but I think that they will turn it
around. I see Wavy streaming literally every day. Talk is also doing the same thing. I mean, this is
that that's completely different from competitive play, but they're still putting in the time
and the work that they need in order to make adjustments. I believe in them boys to make
adjustments. They don't really want to be not considered the top of NA, especially from what
But I know from coaching Wavy, he wants to be at the top and I think he will do anything
in his power to get his team there.
So whatever they got to do outside of on the field to make sure that they get back in
the swing of things, I think they'll do it.
I'm with you on that.
I think Wavy, one of the hardest workers in the game, but just a tough start, man.
Yeah, it is a tough start.
I think something that also hasn't been brought up in conversation is like orgs,
wanting teams, especially like teams in the RLCS to qualify for EWC.
I think that does a put on a definitely a little bit of more pressure,
especially for a team like Vertice Pro who just got signed.
I'm sure like VP probably want that kind of run to be happening as well.
So I think there is some unspoken pressure because of course we all are
like an RLCS style,
but there's other events that are going on too that might matter to
or just, I don't know.
But that being said, we'll see what happens next week.
There's time for teams to kind of work things out.
They'll have calls this weekend, at least at Swiss stage.
So we'll see what goes on in North America right now,
but definitely a lot of things up in the air right now.
Well, like T-Bates or like Gibbs says on the show,
sometimes you just gotta see it again.
So we'll see if we can see it again.
That being said, something that we've seen, that we've never seen before is what happened over in Mina.
What happened over in Mina, you may ask, and you may, you see the question, is it time to hit the panic button?
Can we please get the Mina open for bracket on the screen?
You won't believe this if you didn't watch.
What is that in the grand finals?
Stallion and R8 esports, look at the stallion sweep,
twisting minds in the semi finals in RA almost wet Falcons and the other semi. And we have
new finalists and new winners here in the Mina region. James, I mean, what is going
on?
I fireworks, man. And then to see a player from Kuwait win it, win it all. And also the
So run that rate e-sports went on was like you can't just say it was look.
And so I think what we're kind of seeing and we've seen this effect in other regions, I
think Europe is maybe the only region where I'd say things have finally kind of stabilized
for the most part.
But what we've seen in a lot of other regions is that there will be a boom of popularity
in a region and you're basically casting a net, a wide net for a future pro.
So that's just going to be better than everyone.
And I think we're starting to see the results of a big Mina boom
from years and years ago.
And I don't know if this is just a one and done.
I think this could be a situation where team Falcons
and Twisted Minds no longer run the Roost over in Mina.
I think it's going to be way more competitive.
And honestly, it's super exciting.
Now, I start to wonder if you take the top four Mina teams
in the top four NA teams.
You throw them in a tournament.
Who's gonna do better?
I don't know.
Guys, I wanna break down some math for you.
I am going to guarantee right here
that RAD Sports will make the major.
Twist of Minds or Falcons,
one of them will not make the major.
And it's all because of math, all right?
It's all because of math.
So far, RAD Sports throughout this entire year
has not lost to anyone
outside of Twist of Minds and Falcons.
Back in Open Two, they lost them both.
They went O2.
Then open three, they actually beat one of them,
they went one and two.
Now open four, they go two O against them, right?
So no matter what, it feels like RAD Sports
guaranteed top four at every, like in open five
and open six, right?
And they can still obviously win it
because they can take down Falcons and Twisted Mines.
If that happens, they will be at 34 points
for the split,
because they'll get eight points
for each of those top four finishes.
But if Falcons or Twisted Mines,
if either of them win both of the last two opens,
Yes, that team will make it.
The other team that goes to the grand finals
will only get 32 points total.
So if Twisted Minds and Falcons don't trade open wins,
very likely one of those teams will not be in Paris
and they'll have to play very likely in the LCQ as well.
So it's coming down to it,
but if they only make grand finals and lose both times,
they will not catch RAD Sports unless RAD Sports
finally loses to a team not Falcons or Twisted Minds.
So right now, REV Sports, they've been putting in the work.
They look good in Open 3
when they were challenging these teams.
Now Open 4, they finally get to show it
and they get the big grand finals win.
That's six extra points.
That was absolutely huge for them.
And that should very likely lock them up
as long as they keep doing what they're doing
and at least guarantee two more top fours.
This is insane.
We have stallions, twisted mines, highlights.
We also have REVs Falcons.
Let's take a look at the stallions versus twisted minds here as this.
I'm still processing what Gibbs just said.
We might not even see this twisted mind team at the major.
Hey, hey, hey, or Falcons because twisted minds, or Falcons, or Falcons, that's true.
Yeah, I was watching both of these teams.
I watched Twisted Minds versus Falcons.
I saw that on full, but then I watched what I watched with our eight
versus twisted minds and I couldn't fathom the rate
that some of these other teams, that's crazy.
I didn't mean to say that, but like some of these other teams
like Ray Eastwards, how quick they're moving
and catching up to teams like twisted minds and Falcons.
Like watching Ray play twisted minds,
I figured it would be, you know, twisted minds victory.
Maybe a close matchup
because they play them a little bit closer,
But seeing players like Abdullah and Ghazi,
I'm hoping that I'm saying their names right,
but they match the speed of the players on Falcons
and Twisted Minds.
They are everything you would expect
from another Middle East type of team.
Like it's just pure speed.
They don't care who's on the other side.
They utilize each other.
They play fast and they pass the ball a lot.
And they're always there to follow each other up.
This is another mean of team that you're gonna see.
So I don't know if the panic button
is meant for the rest of the world or the two MENA teams
that want to make the major.
But MENA's got a couple more teams
here that they can take it to the international stage
and actually work on some competition.
Like these boys, Thales and Ray Eastwood,
they're not slouches, man.
And they play exactly identical to what
you see out of twisty minds and falcons, especially
falcons, when they were the previous falcons iteration,
where you would see just constant pressure, passing,
stiff defense, they play like the rest of them, man.
So I think it's a panic button for the rest of the world, man.
If I'm gonna be honest with you,
it's hard to hit the panic button.
It's for international comp
because Mina's getting a lot more stronger.
I think if anyone, it's a panic button for NA
because EU has proven to be untouchable
for the most part.
Yeah, we won the last world championship,
or North America won the last world championship.
But yeah, I think Mina, it might do good for the region
to have this extra bit of competition
and maybe push the top players, you know,
the Falcons and Twisted Minds to put in a level of work
that they've never had to put in before
because they were dominating the region.
Now, like Broldin said, it's real competition.
It's not one-off.
This is now a fight.
Like imagine the LCK like, say the Falcons are in it
and they go to the play-in stage
whoever's in the play in is like, we got to play the Falcons, right? It's like that's going to be rough.
So I think, yeah, Mina is very likely going to have three heavy hitters going into that world championship.
But we talked about rock last year as well, and then they kind of faltered a bit.
So they still got to show it on the international major or world championship.
But still it is looking great. Because everyone that plays in Mina,
they all tried to replicate the old Falcons roster of speed and passing and we see it now.
It's looking fantastic for the top four teams. Yeah. I mean, it is. Listen, everybody's been
talking, you guys on this panel have been talking about independent button in other regions,
international play, but what about the $300 million contract that a certain player on
Falcons has with, with Joralee was that the number? I never heard the real number. That's
a pretty good rate. It's not $300 million, but it might be $300,000. I don't know. It's
one of them, but that being said, they spent a lot of money bringing Joralee over. Carby
Corp lost out on Joralee and the result that they are getting Austin, they haven't
one top four finish. And now there's a chance they don't make the major. I mean, is it,
do you think it's time for Falcons hit the panic button? Yeah, we'll do Falcons first.
Yeah.
I don't think so. I don't think so just yet because team Falcons, if you look at Boston,
they gave gentlemen such a run for their money. It was so close. You know, if team
Falcons wins that series in the semifinals, semifinals, I think they're winning
the whole thing. And you saw Oskie and Nas were on a different level in Boston. So I think to me,
though, the whole experiment, it doesn't even really matter. I think what happens at the majors,
like I think a top four is an acceptable finish in a major. Everything comes down to worlds,
because in my opinion, this team, Falcon's team was made for one singular goal. And anything
else is a failure. And that goal is to win the world championship. Like why else would you
to take TRK off the roster when they came so close.
If Tekken is good enough, you're keeping TRK.
This is a win-world championship team.
So until we see what the result is
from the world championship,
I don't think you can really say much.
And I think they've done enough
to keep people believing
that this team has what it takes to win it all.
Now, here's the thing though.
There's a slight panic
because there's a very real possibility
they don't go to Paris,
which that is unacceptable for a team like this.
I think that would be that would be a major failure, but even still I think that you know
We've seen crazier things. We've seen the old flipside tactics lower bracket runs at world championships
I mean if I think as long as they're at the world championship though, that's enough
But it does get a little bit sticky. I agree with you Gibbs
What do you think there isn't there a statistic where if a team that wins the major typically ends up winning world championship
in that like a ongoing thing for the past couple of seasons?
There's always been one of like the three main events,
like Esports World Cup is included in that,
then usually one of those teams wins.
Yeah, I believe so.
Well, do we then think that, I mean, going into this,
even if Falcons do not make it,
how strong of a chance are we giving them
to make the world?
I think at a certain point that like,
if they do not make this next major,
then the panic button is hit 100%, right?
Like, I don't think there should be an argument against it.
Yeah, yeah, I can see that, I can see that.
I just think that if they may, if they're at Worlds,
like you can let off the gas, but yeah,
the panic should set in if they don't.
I just can't, I can't envision it.
I couldn't see them missing out.
It's wild though, cause if they do miss out on Paris,
there's gonna be a points race for a lot of these teams.
We talked about VP, let's say Foot makes it over VP,
then it's like, all right, now Foot needs certain amount
of points to make it to the world championship.
Falcons, because they got the top four finish in Boston,
both means the teams will need a certain amount of points.
It'll make Paris a lot more interested in to see
who actually makes it compared to who goes to the LCQ.
Yeah, so I mean, there's a lot to consider.
Of course it is, only one open,
and of course you can always say,
you gotta see it again.
Yeah, and NRG literally missed out on top eight
and got the top seed.
So I'm not worried.
I'm not too worried.
That's NRG, James.
Yeah, I know.
It is the greatest team of all time.
Oh, my, okay.
I didn't know that.
I didn't know that.
I didn't know that.
No, I agree with you.
That was a weird one.
That was a weird one.
Hold on.
They're just playing different comp, James.
Like, you can't compare North America who has,
like, NRG just has a foothold over North America.
Like, no, everybody, when they play NRG,
they just get scared, bro.
Like, they're like, oh, my goodness.
Look who I'm playing against.
It does seem like there's that extra element for sure.
But I think now, because there are those four solid teams,
I think if you run into any one of those teams
early in the bracket, it can just run.
So I think it's really early still.
And I only say that about NRG just to like,
because we witnessed it already,
that a team can actually miss out, like Virtus.Pro,
they can have a bad first split and still bounce back.
So I think we're very far away
from the panic button for team Falcons.
That's all.
The only other thing I have here is that
initially I wanted to talk about twisted minds
because I wondered if they should have made a move
during the trade window.
And now I'm really wondering if they should have made
a move just because now they've already struggled
against Falcons.
Now you have three more teams that you're struggling with.
You're struggling with Stiles because they just swept you
and now you're struggling with Ray
because they can also be Falcons.
So, you know, process their competition, but I'm a little, I'm a little concerned.
Yeah.
Twisted and honestly, I feel like you see this strat a lot of times from orgs and teams where
they will be like, all right, who's our next biggest competitor?
Let's take their best player and Adam to our team.
We cripple our opponent.
We make ourselves stronger.
Like you, I could see that from like a twisted minds.
You know, am I crazy?
Is that not a pretty common strat all the time somebody awful rate or stallions?
Yeah, yeah, you can get like epic transition to Europe.
Is that what we're talking about?
Would you say or like what's happening here?
Well, that is that is the interesting comparison.
But no, I think that if if there was a move, I would have expected it to be
something like that.
But, you know, also, you know, I think it just so it's early in the split
and it's it's early in the year.
I think we've seen enough from both of those teams to just give them the
year, honestly, just give them a year.
But I do feel like if they miss out on World Championship
and it comes to LCKQ, then we might see one of those moves.
I would agree.
Then there's probably only going to be two contenders.
If you take the best player off the other contender,
you have a much better chance to make it.
I agree.
I could see it there.
Yeah.
So that's what happens as well.
Because if Raider Stylian make the major,
how well will they do?
Next thing you know, N.A. might be losing a spot.
I hope not.
But listen, someone who lost his spot at the top of the world is trying to make his way back as Europe takes the stage this weekend, and it is the one, the only alpha 54, he has returned, he's made it into the top 16, and he has taken he replaced
Eugene on gentle bench, gotta make sure I pronounced that correctly from last split.
They failed to make top 16 with Eugene.
It was Radosan and Mitzer and Eugene.
Now they get alpha.
They're back to the top 16 biz man.
How do you feel about the return out 54?
I think he has unfinished business.
Whether he will complete business that is that is to be said or not and then to be completed
or not.
I honestly, I have high hopes for Alpha, but taking that long of a break, I still don't
know what he's going to show up like against some of the top teams.
I'm sure he's still as confident as he was before.
I'm sure he's going to look very similar to what he was prior, where he was just kind
of this ball dominant person, a player type of player, and you kind of fed him the
rock, see what happens, especially with Radosan on this team, somebody who he's
comfortable playing with. But I don't know how much that's going to help them
against the top dogs in EU to be honest. Well, I really think that it makes for an
interesting storyline because I kind of look at Alpha, you know, look back at his
history. He's kind of the comeback kid, right? He's the comeback kid to me.
But it comes out of the scene that whole RLCSX, which is also unfortunate
where such a peak in his young career was when we had no lands.
BaralCSX, Bita, Team BDS, that was absolutely dominant
through the online era.
And then also to get a world championship as well,
kind of coming out of nowhere,
it was the whole Zen fever.
Getting a world championship in that fashion,
I think he has shown time and time again
that yes, people know that he's great,
but he also finds ways to win.
He's just a winner and he'll get the job done.
And so I'm watching with a lot of anticipation
because I think Alpha's just one of those players
where if you're a fan for RLCS for a long time,
one of the great prodigies that we've seen
when like one of the young player comes on the scene,
does amazing things.
And now he's a world champion with a teammate
that he's playing with right now.
You could see some upsets.
There's three things.
There's three things in Rock League
that I always harp on, right?
There is the quality loss meta,
like quality losses are great.
There's the, you have to show me twice.
And then there's the hair meta.
All right.
K-Dop or I'm sorry.
Now Alpha with the beard, the beard is bringing in some power.
You know, his former teammate, fairy peak, like after he cut his hair,
lost all his rocket league ability.
All right.
Alpha now is like, I'm going to grow it out on the bottom side of the
face.
He's trying, you know, something new here, but it's an epic beard.
I think there's a lot of rocket league talent in that beard.
and I expect KDOP Corp to put it to GK. They're playing them first. That's a tough matchup for GK.
That could be a sleeper upset here. So I'm going to say because the beard is so high quality,
I'm giving it in five to KDOP Corp. All right. I'm giving it to him. I'll say that one reads round
one. There we go. Just make sure the beard's out of the microphone. It's got to be out of the
microphone because we don't need muffled comms. All right. That's it.
Don't need muscle comms is absolutely right, but we're going to dive into it as well.
The GK make the right move because GK, I mean, listen, they had a little, not really the
best Swiss state.
I took a look at the Swiss stage.
It was okay.
I mean, Joe Mates also had four rounds of Swiss.
Both teams had kind of a slow start GK lost to chippy chips who didn't even qualify.
And then they kind of picked things up, but I don't know if they're as threatening with
tempo.
Yeah, could we bring up the tempo Seiko graphic because again, it was even exchange.
It could kind of be debated, but tempo to GK, Seiko to Man City.
Like I said, both teams went four rounds in Swiss.
Now looking at the bracket, I believe where is GK, GK has KDOP Corp.
Then they have NIP on the main city side.
They got gentlemates and then they got vitality right after.
So main city is a little tough here, but I mean, let's kind of dive deep into
again. So how do you feel about this trade?
I feel like it's one of those things where you never know exactly
what's happening behind the scenes on these teams, right?
Because I feel like with GK, the online split did not go their way.
They were very mediocre.
They went a tiebreaker as an EU5C.
And really, the only reason why they get that is because they made a grand finals.
They found a way to make one grand finals and got some extra points there.
GK did not have a good online split.
So I could see why they make the move.
But at the major, they look better.
But it's always one of those things where these moves probably happen before the major, right?
Where they're like, no matter what we do, unless we win the tournaments,
We're probably making a move because we don't think that this team is good enough to be a top
four team or be a grand finalist. I got a world championship. So I don't mind the move for GK.
Like I get why people are upset. They're like, oh, they look so good at the major, but I bet
these things happen before the major where they're already kind of thinking about it. And
you take the best player off the team that you played in that tiebreaker with.
It's not a bad idea to try and move them down. The problem is they trade perfectly. So
So now Man City, you know, they have a good run, but their group is brutal, playing mates
first for the best team in the world.
The bracket is not going to be kind of like that.
And then they also have Vitality, who was also the grand finalist, like, that is absolutely
brutal.
Yeah.
And the other thing I think is that's really important here as well as you look at the
big picture of the world championship, GK and Man City are right next to each other.
They are, they are racing for, are racing against one another.
So this is one of those situations where a slight change in balance can either extend
the leap for GK and put Man City out of the world championship race, just locking it in
through the regular season, or Man City leapfrogging over GK.
So I think it's a risky, risky move.
Like both teams, I think this is a really bold move.
And right now, just from the first event, the bracket luck not there for Man City.
I think this could be a situation where the both teams are just doing the calculation and DK is probably like I think we you know
Seiko's a great player, but we're gonna be better with tempo and man city will probably be worse like that
I think that was the they must believe that to make this trade. Why else would you do it?
And so but I think this is one of those things where one of those teams is gonna look dumb
There's a good chance well man city really had no options, right?
They had to replace their players. So it's not really up to man city more up to GK who made the major is like
You don't think they can say no. I guess I don't know what the the contracts were
Well, no man city could have picked someone else up, but they were losing tempo no matter what I think you think but I think so
I guess yeah, we don't know what the contract looks like what I'm guessing would have happened
Was that both orgs were like we will accept the contractual obligation?
you have to your player and you have to accept the contractual obligation that we have to our
player, you know, or like basically just agree to pay out the terms of whatever that would
be what I would guess would happen. I don't know. I thought there was tryouts for Man City
and late into the window they decided on their player. I'm pretty sure it was for
receivers. Yeah, I think that led to like a whole Magnifico drama Magnifico also
did not make it to the top 16 this time around.
I would love to know what that deal was,
because even if you have tryouts,
it doesn't make that any different.
Like if they decide to go to Seiko,
what could probably could have happened was like,
GK came to Man City and said, we'll give you Seiko.
And they'd be like, hold on, hold on.
You know, we'll give you Seiko, but we want tempo.
They'd be like, wait, we're gonna test things out.
So even still, you know,
I think that this probably was a situation
where Man City probably could have stuck
if they wanted to.
But yeah, it's regardless, like I'm saying,
I just think it's a really crazy move
to see a one-to-one trade on two teams
that are in the neck and neck race for the top five spot.
Yeah.
Yeah, it is definitely interesting.
We'll see what happens here.
Obviously Man City, definitely not a favorable group.
You just have too much talent in the group.
We talked about vitality, we talked about gentlemates.
Karmie Corp's also in that group there in the other bracket.
Novos in that group, a chronic Duke Rezzi who else, TRB,
that's Toxin Rezir's team with Bebaba.
I've heard stories about the Bebaba guy, so I'm excited to see how he looks.
But yeah, lots of comp there.
Meanwhile, we got to talk about the bigger conversation.
Can we take a look at the EU season points here?
Because the question proposed to the table makes right now number one in Europe. They're sitting above Karmicorp at 57 points
With all the changes with the competition in the EU depth
Can they stay at the top?
There's a once you go first man
Sure, they can
will they I
I took car my court back at the beginning of the season. I
Already disappointed in my prediction seeing that general mates has won multiple times
But I'm thinking Carmine Corp is going to come back, man.
I can't stop this team from leaving my mind.
In Europe, bro, this team is just, like,
Vateria is playing at an all-time high.
I believe he is playing out of his mind this season.
And I think Atal has looked a lot better
coming into the season as well.
Getting the full reins again to play offense
since Jorley is going.
but I would say Carmen course gonna take that spot back, man.
That's my full belief.
I think they had a bad little section of the season
like they normally do and they're gonna get it back, man.
Carmen course gonna season top dogs again.
I'm going with the mates again.
Give me the mates again, man.
I think they're all to it.
I said it at the start of the season.
I had mates and I had GK, GK.
They're kind of letting me down to try to bring it back up, but I'm going to stick with the mates again, man.
I think they can hold on to it. Talk to them after boss. And they said they're still hungry. Archie drops.
No, finish group. So he's going to, he's going to go. He's going to lock in.
He's going to get the job done, man. Neat. Seymour of Archie.
Askiness. So I'm saying yes.
I'm saying yes.
It's weird to not have K-Corp as your number one seed in Europe, right?
It's like, I think it's going between them and mates.
I think Vitality probably drops back down
and they're probably gonna have a mediocre online split again,
be that EU3.
I think I'm going with the Mates as well,
at least for the online portion.
I think Oskie has been the real deal
and it has looked fantastic.
Obviously Nas, you know, he showed up at the major
but I think like the X Factor on the team
is how Oskie's playing.
I think he's looking like one of the world's best
and I think I would have to give Mates the EU once
he'd gone into Paris.
I think this is just a really poorly worded question. Honestly. I think because there's only one answer in its can can they stay at number one? Obviously, yes. Will they stay at number one is the right question?
question because they obviously they can't we saw nas ascend to a different level
I think the the big question for me is will they be able to do it and that's where it starts getting a little iffy to me
I I really feel like k-corp is the best team over in Europe. I think they will bounce back and
Also in the grand finals like we we saw
Super Saiyan nas like I I don't know if he's doing that again. I don't know
That was one of those things where the vibe like everything seemed to align like you saw it with NASC the carefree attitude and everything he was unbelievable.
It was it was one of the greatest performances that I've ever seen.
And when I see a performance like that, I immediately think that I will never see anything like this again or it will be the last time I see something like this for a really long time.
So if he can replicate that, that's going to be what it's going to take.
I think for for mates to stay.
Yeah, he can replicate that.
You want him to replicate a historical republic story.
You know what I mean.
You know what I mean.
I do.
So I caught up, though, it's been mediocre, though, too.
Like, at the majors, they were not good.
They were not good at all.
They barely made it out of their group.
It was a group of death.
But they won in five games against Space Station
and Twist of Minds.
If they lose one of those, they're not even in the playoffs.
So, like, they need to pick it up as well.
Is it telling that we're not even really
talking much about vitality?
Like, do you think, like, are we just blowing vitality off here?
Do they got no shot?
No.
I mean, Zen, and also this is another one of those things where I think history looks
kindly on Alpha and also Berdosen.
You know, Zen won with them and now Zen, he's been, he's been trying to fight back
to number one in Europe, number one in the world.
And, you know, will we see it again?
So I think I wouldn't count vitality out, but I think I'm curious what you guys
think on where vitality stands in this race for number one.
I think they are, I think they just have to prove it.
And you would say, okay, well, they just made a major final, true.
They beat NRG, who was coming off of a K-Corp win, and they also beat Falcons.
So I feel like, you know, you can push them.
You might actually be able to put them over K-Corp, but, you know, but you, like, you
can, I can look at Roald in his face when I say, and I know he's like, this is a
crazy thing.
There's no way you could ever say that.
you have the evidence that you can make the argument with, and I'm, I'm on, you know, I'm
going to roll this aside. I think army court, you know, I've probably put carbon core over
vitality. I still can't put carbon corporate number one because they lost that I feel like
that lost to NRG hit them real hard. I feel like this is the week they've looked right
now. And I feel like they're going to dig deeper. They're going to fall apart. It's
one or the other, but here's either coming back for revenge or he's going to stick
it to despair. One or the other.
That's what's gonna happen.
When have you ever known Vitero to sink into despair?
I think he did it one time and he never looked back.
We were like, what is this Vitero, bro?
He's not acting like a main character on X.
Like this guy, where is he going?
But then he came back.
I just feel like, you know, maybe this is Vitality's year.
Maybe this is Zenz's year to get back to him.
He already had his year, James.
It was a rookie season.
That was his year.
Like, no, right now, it's not as dramatic,
but he's kind of following the speed playbook.
You know?
Speed?
Speed?
Speed playbook.
You remember speed when he was on the scene with WSOE?
He comes in at first event ever wins the WSOE land.
And then he like the trajectory was down since then, right?
Zen has, Zen had the biggest,
like the biggest splash of a rookie that we'd ever seen
in terms of the motivation of other pros
to catch up to his levels.
And he's just like results wise has not been able to get back to that.
Cause obviously like how do you, you got to win the world championship again to
get back up. And so I think, you know, I, I, when I say that about Zen,
that's what I'm talking about. I'm like, is, does he have a team good
enough to win the world championship again? You know, the, and I think
I'm going to say he does, he does have a team that is good enough.
Vitality right now is good enough. They've proven it in Boston.
They are good now. Keep in mind that loss against gentlemen mates was bad. It was bad
You got people break a history gets you kind of bad, but
They can refine it and they can definitely go in a pair stronger. I don't know listen. They're Paris
These first teams of Paris. It's like a debuff. I don't know
I don't expect any first team to do well in Paris, but they're just like they're all French, right?
Like I guess maybe maybe not gentle maids because right French ish because the Oregon
I don't know. I'm really pumped, though, for Zen to really go through the speed arc in two years, go to college in North America.
It's going to be great. It's going to be a good time. Vitality is one of the seams that's weird.
They get so much hate through the whole online split. And I'm always on the other side of like, they're okay.
Like, like everyone's like, they shouldn't even be here. I'm like, no, there's still like the third best team in Europe.
But then after seeing them do so out the major like
Like I feel like everyone's on the same page including me. I'm just like I don't believe I don't know why I just don't
I'm like don't fall back down to number three in Europe for the online split and then Paris is a wild card
Because there's gonna be so much pressure on everyone there that like who knows what happens
Like if they show up there, maybe but as of now like if we're talking about world championship
I don't think vitality like is going to be in the running personally. Maybe a top four, but
I don't know. I don't believe in that Boston performance. I don't think they replicated. Like
if I was a betting man, I would not bet on that right now.
Yeah, I don't know. It's tough. It's a tough situation because I know exactly what you're
talking about. It's one of those things where you feel like with the way things have gone
for vitality these last few years. It's like, I got to see it to believe it. Like we just had
a chance to see it and you fell short. And it's so weird because like they were in the group of
death. They looked fantastic. It was a great tournament for them all in all outside of the
grand final, but still that's okay. But for some reason I still can't believe. I don't know why.
I just, I just can't. You got to see it again, Gibbs. You got to see it again.
OK, but OK, final, final topic here of the show today, he's got five spots, give me your
way too early.
Paris five James, you got it off hand.
I can go.
I mean, I can go if you want me to.
It won't be.
It won't be pretty, but I think without a doubt, gentlemates for sure, for sure.
for sure. I think Vitality locked in for sure. And I would probably do NIP again. And then,
gosh, this is where I think it's going to be probably Man City or GK. And
I, I would, I might, I kind of like the bracket doesn't seem great, but
you know what, because the bracket, I'll honestly say GK again. I think this could
could be a disastrous tournament points wise for Man City and GK.
I think it's just going to be a run back, honestly, for Europe.
Okay.
It's a born answer, but I don't.
I agree.
I don't see any other teams like, I don't see Man City, maybe, like,
especially with their group and obviously it's only one third of the season,
but still like, I think GK obviously had a down split.
I think they do better now.
So I think I'm going with the same five.
There's you all with the same five.
I don't want to, but it kind of feels like I have to because of the bracket.
Honestly, like if the bracket was a little bit different,
like one other team on the other side, I might have been Manchester.
But yeah, I don't know.
You guys, you guys don't believe it in the K-Dub court.
Sure, the beard, the beard is nice, but I don't know.
The beard is nice.
We don't have the K-Dub court?
No, no help for the K-Dub court.
The beard is nice.
The beard is nice.
Gameplay, who knows, but the beard is looking good.
Won't see you at the major, beard, but you know.
I mean, he'll probably be there.
He'll show up.
It's Paris, you know.
He'll be in the crowd.
Yeah, he's gonna be in the crowd.
You're having a ticket.
That's are you doing it like who's your fifth?
I mean, come on, I think that's how it comes down to listen.
I might I might have to jump on a KDOP Corp train.
That would be a story.
It would be a story.
I feel like how about how about this?
How about this?
So KDOP Corp, the way their bracket works is they do play GK
and then it would go likely into NIP like if theoretically they do
make it out of that group somehow. And it's doable. It's doable for them.
Then, you know, maybe, maybe you're not so crazy as if you say KDOPCorp.
To KDOPCorp, I think they're top eight, but I think they,
they have a good chance of making top eight in this first,
I think that this will tell us whether like if KDOPCorp is truly one of those
teams, like if dad thinks that they might be able to squeeze in at number
five, this is the literal bracket that would tell us that.
Mm-hmm. Yes. Yeah. So, so I mean, I guess that if you are alpha
and I'm walking it in, man, the boys. Oh, my God, court, man.
Can't get up court. We'll find out how bad of a prediction
that is this week. We've got the first round.
Yeah. Yeah.
Dad's with his train, but there's no train tracks.
just be sitting there in a month.
You might as well make the tweet now and keep it in draft.
This will be the last time you hear about
Kate Upcourt from Dazzarine because I'm so bad.
Or will he ask the major?
Kate Upcourt will make the major.
I'm calling it now.
No, guys. I already see it now because you're going to tweet out,
because you're going to take a picture with them in the crowd.
But like, see, they're here in Paris.
That is such a good approach as well as cover both bases. Of course. Of course. Come on.
I didn't think about it though. I didn't think about it, but no, they'll be playing. They'll
be playing. Please, please get up court. Please. I believe. Oh gosh. All right. But I mean,
if the other five make it, but it's the kind of usual five definitely based off of
what we're seeing in this open for bracket. This gentleman open for starts tomorrow with
the Friday stream. It'll be right here on twitch.tv slash rocket league. Be sure and
keep your notice on so you're locked in on when the stream goes live. You got a little
bit of taste of the red zone action last week with N.A. It'll be back tomorrow for
Europe. Gibbs James. Thank you guys so much for coming on the show today. I appreciate
it. It's been an absolute pleasure having you before it's my pleasure. You know, I
mean, I love, I love hanging out with Gibbs. You know, we do a lot of gaming
together and stuff. And it's just always a team effort. He never just abandons me to
die alone. And any game show, keep at some. It's fine. But all, all I got to say is that
he's back on top baby. All right, we got space station game and taking it down the
world champion and RG. So you know what power rake is my list. Number one, number
two, space station and RG after that, it doesn't even matter three through 10.
There's my grand finals Paris. It's going to be space station versus NRG. We're
going to see in our first and a final. I'll see you there to the loop pretty good. He had
it backwards a little. No, it's great. He would definitely still have NRG. I feel like
Gibbs is just so perfectly encapsulated the delusion that T Bates brings to the discussion.
So thank you for that.
Yeah.
All right.
There's man.
Thanks for being here as always man.
Another one.
Another one in the books.
That's right.
Ladies and gentlemen in the chat, thank you guys for tuning in.
First touch today.
I hope you guys enjoy.
What the?
Oh.
Jump scare.
Jump scare.
Oh my god.
On behalf of all the staff behind the scenes to make this happen.
Again, big shout out to everybody working behind the scenes on the show as well as all
the support we get from Cyanics and Epic.
Thank you guys so much.
And thank you who have been watching day in and day out, leaving all of your comments.
We see it all and we appreciate all the conversation.
First touch, we'll be back next week to cover more Rock and League action.
Talk about what happened this weekend.
So without further ado, one, two, two to Loo, see you guys.
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