AUTHOR: CHRIS "BEARLIGHT" LEE / @BEARLIGHTCASTS
Fill up your boost tanks, Rocket League crew. Week 28 of Turbo Tuesday took off this week with the perfect combination of new and familiar Stay Plugged In esports recruits taking the pitch. With the marquee recruitment event 'Carry 2 College' coming up this weekend, it is easy to recognize the utility of the weekly tournaments. Individual players and teams were able to test new playstyles and approaches, and in some cases, new rosters all together. Two new teams made the Grand Finals this week, and YTAC Varsity joins Stellar in our 'Teams on the Rise' category. All of the details can be found in our BearLight breakdown below.
TEAMS ON THE RISE - YTAC VARSITY & STELLAR
The Youth Technology Apprenticeship Camp (YTAC) is a program designed for high school students teaching the concepts of programming, business, video editing, graphic design, and more as a compliment to esports. During the esports portion of the camp, Rocket League is the focal point. Players use the same technique of self-improvement in the classroom and apply it in-game to increase their game knowledge and mechanics. A vast majority of players were new to the game coming in, but are now challenging some of the best teams in the Stay Plugged In circuit. Having seen these players from the start, it seemed YTAC Varsity would need much more time to reach this level. Impressive work from OZED1, TOX1C SWIFT, and GOAT CREEPER in reaching the Lower Semifinals, with their most notable win over PHS Eagle Esports.
Stellar has shown quite a few different roster looks during their Stay Plugged In tenure, and none seem more right then this combination here. DYZUR, TKO, and BREADMAN worked their way into the Lower Finals with their (2-0) win over YTAC Varsity. The Dyzur and TKO double-headed scoring machine went back to work this week, though team Tonkas were able to hold Stellar to just six goals in four games, including a shut-out in Game 4 to end Stellar's tournament there.
GRAND FINAL - MANGO MUCHERS 3, TONKAS 4
Since there are no records of either of these teams in the Stay Plugged In circuit, let's take a quick look at the rosters before we dive in.
Mango Munchers: ANTHONY8PIZZA, VANISH, and BOLTI
Tonkas: EXORARI, SPOOKED, and TUV
From this list, Anthony, Bolti, and Tuv are the only three who have Turbo Tuesday experience, and Tuv is the only one with more than one tournament played. Tuv was also the only player in the Grand Finals with a tournament win prior to this week, which may have come in handy for Tonkas in this series.
Before this match, the two teams also lined up in the Upper Final, where Mango Munchers offered a quick (3-0) sweep to Tonkas. Reading the series score made it feel like an indication that Mango Munchers would have a pretty easy time in the Grand Finals too, especially with the one-game advantage they would come in with. After further research into the results of the Upper Finals, we saw that Tonkas rallied from a shut-out loss in Game 1, and kept the next two games within one goal. They also limited Mango Munchers to an average of 2.33 goals per game, a mark much lower than seen in the rest of this tournament.
The Grand Finals for Week 28 was quite the ride. Tonkas took the first game (3-2) to add to their one-game advantage and lead the series [2-0]. With a heavy workload ahead for Tonkas beginning in Game 3, a majority of the work was complete over the next three games. They win Games 3 through 5, outscoring Mango Munchers 11-5 in that timeframe. MM's were desperate for a Game 6 win to hit the brakes on the opposing runaway train, and they got it. Although accomplishing the goal, the (2-1) win for Mango Munchers felt more like throwing sticks on the track, to keep with the same metaphor. It was a temporary moment of victory, as Tonkas fired back up and took Game 7 (4-2) to complete their Lower Bracket to Grand Final run, and gain revenge on Mango Munchers by the count of [4-3].
TONKAS EARN THEIR FIRST TURBO TUESDAY TITLE
As mentioned prior, this would be the second title for Tuv, but for Spooked and Exorari, they would pick up their first ever Turbo Tuesday win. Congratulations to Tonkas for digging deep and completing the comeback win against a team that had their number the first time around! TUV earns the MVP this week for both performance in-game and leadership in bringing less decorated teammates together for a championship.
There are a ton of Stay Plugged In Rocket League events coming up this season, including Carry 2 College this weekend, as well as a few LAN events to keep an eye out for. Visit our events page on this website to find the registration pages, and feel free to invite anyone you may know to join our platform and compete this Fall.