The Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey was packed for the final match between North America’s G2 Esports and Europe’s Renault Vitality. We caught up with Renault Vitality on day one of the tournament, they claimed to be relaxed at a tournament with such high stakes. They ended up cruising to a 4-1 victory in the grand final.
Renault Vitality originally fell to G2 Esports in the group stages, after defeating Ground Zero Gaming, to finish second. From there they went on to the playoffs, where they beat NRG Esports, Cloud9 and G2 Esports. Having taken down the reigning champions in a commanding 4-0 victory, they then enacted revenge against the team that handed them their only loss; this surely made lifting the trophy that much sweeter.
Before the match even began, Alex ‘Goldenboy’ Mendez helped orchestrate the longest crowd wave at over 18 minutes, which set a new world record. The crowd was ready for the match, just like the six young men on stage fighting for the Season 7 Championship.
Photo courtesy of Rocket League
The first match was taken into overtime with Vitality’s young star Kyle ‘Scub Killa’ Robertson scoring to put the Europeans up 1-0. Vitality put on an amazing show full of strong defense, constant pressure, and montage-worthy shots. In the end, Vitality won 4-1 over G2 Esports. Not only did the win cement Vitality’s accomplishments this year, but also secured Alexandre "Kaydop" Courant as the three-time world Champion. Kaydop was previously with Dignitas, where he also won the World Championship in 2017.
A big congratulations to @TeamVitality, they were crowned the @RocketLeague#RLCS7 World Champions yesterday! 👑They took the championship against @G2esports 4-1 in the grand final! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/2XLsOT8nuN
— Gfinity Esports (@Gfinity)
June 24, 2019
As soon as the team walked into the press room, everybody erupted into celebration for the young men. Scrub Killa, Kaydop, and Victor ‘Fairy Peak’ Locquet proudly displayed their medals around their necks. Individually you could see the relief and pride on their faces.
I asked Scub Killa what his plan for continuing his career in Rocket League was.
“I’m not going to stop. I am going to keep on playing.”
The 16-year-old Scottish player also talked about how the team’s communication is key for winning important matches.
“We don’t panic. We have really good comms [communication] which help a ton. We aren’t afraid to tell each other when they do something wrong.”
Of course, it also helps that the team’s chemistry is strong inside and outside of the game. Fairy Peak and Kaydop are close friends in real life.
“If you have two team mates who do not like each other, it makes winning that much more difficult.”
The friendship for this group was evident when Fairy Peak and Scrub Killa let out a soft chuckle, when they spoke about Kaydop’s early morning routine on Sunday before the event.
“Kaydop woke up by jumping on and off his bed. He was telling us ‘We can do this. Let’s win this!’”
The entire team seemed to agree when Vitality’s coach, Mike ‘Gregan’ Ellis talked about Kaydop’s humble approach towards winning:
“When asked if Kaydop is the best player, everybody will answer yes while he will say no. Kaydop doesn’t care about being the best player, only being on the best team.”
Congratulations to Renault Vitality on winning RLCS Season 7! Who did you predict to win the tournament? Did you get it right? Tweet us!
Missed our interview from day one with Renaulty Vitality? Catch it here.
Want to hear Triple Trouble's thoughts after their loss to Cloud 9? Check it out here.
With Gamescom 2019 on the horizon, we can expect lots of Rocket League news. Read more about Gamescom here.
Written ByAmanda Zelauskas@Pandaax92