AUTHOR: CHRIS "BEARLIGHT" LEE / @BEARLIGHTCASTS
A full night of Rocket League for our esports recruits took place this past Tuesday, as the Summer Series Invitational presented by Coca-Cola kicked off it's Day 1 matches on the Stay Plugged In Twitch stream. Fans and colleges tuned in to witness the top 8 teams battle it out on the pitch. As expected, the two teams with the top records in the league made their way into the Upper Bracket Finals, but it was quite the ride to get there. In this breakdown, we will discuss the biggest surprises of the tournament so far, and give you the breakdown of some of the closer matches we got to see first hand.
BRACKET'S BIGGEST SURPRISES
#2 GnS Falls in Upper Bracket Round 1, Advances to Lower Final
Based on the numbers, GnS was easily the second best team in the league over the course of the season. Although they struggled against the titans of Doodle Bangers on a few occasions, their ability to convert offensive plays into goals carried the squad to an impressive [12-3] record over the six-week long regular season.
Before you hit GnS too hard with the judgement in losing their initial match, take into consideration that their counterpart, Humphrey Gang, wastheir opponent for it. The Gang were only able to attend two weeks of the regular season, and with a [5-1] overall record, their low point count was the only reason they were seeded so low. GnS also played them really well in Round 1, taking Humphrey Gang to five games. What makes GnS's performance a surprising one, is that they were able to shake off the loss to win three straight series, and will be featured in the Lower Finals next week.
Funky Bois Peaking, Finish 4th in the Invitational
"That final Week 6 sweep [against Stellar] may have left Funky Bois feeling a bit depleted moving into August." A direct quote from myself heading into the Invitational. I got quite the clap back from Funky Bois' own Iceborg, as he responded on Twitter, "The 'bois' are feeling just fine, just the little things to fix @BearLightGaming. We got this", he said. I was honestly a skeptic walking in, giving a live prediction of RegimentGG taking Round 1 over Funky Bois. I'll admit I was wrong, this team showed up big.
A huge comeback win [4-3] in Game 1 included a zero second goal to equalize, as well as the overtime winner, clutching it out in pure adrenaline. They also bounced back after two consecutive, large-margin losses in the next two games, and beat RegimentGG in a thrilling 5-game series. Funky Bois dropped to Doodle Bangers (a lot of teams have this season), but then beat RegimentGG AGAIN in the lower side of the bracket. In the Lower Semifinals, they played their hearts out, but came up just short with an OT loss in the decisive Game 3. My full respect to this team that I counted out from the get-go, as they earn 4th place in the Invitational, and will enjoy the $100 payout.
OTHER NOTABLE MATCHES
Lower Semifinals - GnS vs Funky Bois
With Funky Bois performing better than expected, and GnS uncharacteristically having to fight through the lower bracket, it was anyone's guess as to what was to happen as the teams lined up for their Lower Semifinals match. Mercii of Funky Bois drew first blood on GnS, and with an answer just 22 seconds later, the series was shaping up to be a deadlock. With under a minute remaining in Game 1, Spookii lofted a shot from the slot to score the game winner, and gave his team the feeling that they were capable of taking taking the series.
Leave it to the purely talented Dank, Phoenix, and Anti to shorten the duration of the Funki Bois rally, taking Game 2 with a [3-0] shutout. There were just 9 seconds left on the clock in the decisive Game 3 when the team dug deep and equalized at 1. GnS jumped out with a kickoff goal and took the lead with 4 seconds remaining, and you would think that was the dagger. Nope. A zero second kickoff goal from the Funky Bois! Three goals in a matter of 9 seconds. There is no quit in the Bois. Unfortunately for them, DankMemeHub caught their defense too far forward and launched a cross-pitch shot to end the series. Tough results for Funky Bois, but a performance they look forward to building off of in the future.
After the game, Iceborg went to Twitter. " Played the series of a lifetime, couldn't close it out.", he said. "GGs as we finish 4th in the Stay Plugged In: Turbo Tuesday Summer Series Invitational." You can see and react to the tweet here.
Upper Bracket Final - Doodle Bangers vs Humphrey Gang
Doodle Bangers had everything pieced together in the first two games against Humphrey Gang in the Upper Finals. Luca and Knight displayed their typical heathy-dose of striking, and even Skies was getting in on the scoring as well, despite being known as the anchor on the defensive side and the set-up king in transition. Even though Humphrey Gang had jumped out to a 5-1 lead in Game 3, that lead would be challenged at the end with two goals back-to-back for DDB. At a (2-1) series score, Doodle Bangers won a very decisive Game 4 to move to match point, and then grabbed a 3-1 lead in it with 2:22 left. Peep of Humphrey Gang fought to pull them within striking distance, a one goal differential with 44 seconds left, but the series still felt as if it was over.
But then one mistake turned everything on it's head. With zero seconds left, in an attempt to get the ball away from Humphrey Gang, Skies launched it through the diving octane of Luca and into his own net. Humphrey Gang ended up winning that game in Overtime. It was at this point that the doom of Doodles permeated the airwaves of all watching. Back-to-back wins for Humphrey Gang, including another back-breaking overtime in Game 6, sends the Gang to the Grand Finals, and drops Doodle Bangers to a do-or-die against GnS in the Lower Finals next week.
TWO FINALS MATCHES AND HOW TO WATCH
LOWER FINALS - DOODLE BANGERS vs GNS
GRAND FINALS - HUMPREY GANG vs (WINNER OF ABOVE)
The Lower Bracket Final will kick off the final night of the Summer Series Invitational presented by Coca-Cola beginning at 7 pm ET next Tuesday on the Stay Plugged in main Twitch channel. Make sure to tune in to the pregame show, featuring another Coca-Cola Real Magic Moment, along with the end-of-season Player Awards ceremony beginning at 6:30 pm ET.