Season 4 of the Gfinity Elite Series by Domino’s is officially underway and it’s safe to say that it was full-speed ahead for the opening weekend of Rocket League on Saturday morning.
We’re taking competitiveness to the next level in Season 4 of the Elite Series, as all of our teams face each other across all three games. So, the exceL Esports FIFA 19 team played Method on Friday night, with exceL’s Rocket League team facing Method’s on the Saturday morning. The pressure was truly on.
With this new format, aimed at raising the stakes amongst the teams, it was all to play for come Saturday morning. There was no doubt extra pressure on Rocket League teams, particularly if their franchises' FIFA team had fallen short the night before…
It’s time to buckle in as we recap the events of the first Rocket League match of the season:
exceL Esports vs Method
Having lost in their FIFA 19 match to exceL the evening before, it was up to Method’s Rocket League squad to seal the deal on their first win of the season. Method managed to go the distance in Season 3 of the Elite Series, spinning out of control in week 7 against Renault Vitality - with former Season 2 champs Rix Ronday and Borito B in tow, could they go the extra mile against exceL?
In short: yes. Despite exceL’s Rocket League roster being finely tuned, with latest draftees for the squad coming from former champs Renault Vitality (OllieCruk), exceL were soon left in the dust as Method won with an impressive score of 3-0.
Reason Gaming vs Team Envy
For the first time in 2018, Reason Gaming stepped back into the Gfinity Esports Arena for Elite Series Season 4, equipped with a roster boasting the best talent from Unilad, Epsilon, Endpoint and Method.
Searching for a Reason win after their defeat in FIFA against Team Envy, Reason put out a team that was to be reckoned with: Shakaron, Pugsay and Calix. Reason were the undefeated Rocket League champs of Season 2, but could history repeat itself…?
Despite Team Envy having the most experienced Rocket League duo on their team, Mout and Waffle, who brought the franchise to a halt at second place in Season 3, Reason quickly gained the upper-hand owed to their fast-place style of play.
Envy just couldn’t seem to shift it up a gear, as the game drew to a close with Reason’s first win of Season 4: 3-0.
Epsilon Esports vs Fnatic
After having (arguably) the best match of the night in FIFA 19, the stakes were high as Epsilon Esports met Fnatic in the Rocket League arena. Spoiler: it’s no surprise a score wasn’t settled until extra time…
Despite Fnatic gaining an early advantage, Epsilon were quick to put the peddle to the metal and step up their tempo in game. With notoriously fine-tuned players like Snaski, Ekso, Bilbo and Cheerio playing, there were simply too many dramatic moments to mention.
Both teams had plenty of goals and saves as it was toing and froing throughout all four of the first games. In each match, it was down to the final few seconds for a player to take the edge and rev their franchise to the lead.
It was all down to extra time as both teams searched for that golden goal -- whoever scored, took the win home for their team. Bilbo did just that for Epsilon Esports, making the final score 3-2 to Epsilon, and crowning Epsilon ‘Squad of the Night’ honours from Domino’s UK thanks to their skilful gameplay.
Hashtag United vs ASUS ROG Army
Spain was well and truly in the house as energic Elite Series newcomer ASUS ROG matched with giants Hashtag United.
Doomsee, runner-up in Season 2 of the Elite Series, coached Hashtag United through each match, giving the controller a break due to his broken hand and instead focussing on leading Hashtag’s young Rocket League team to a victory with a 3-0 win.
Despite ASUS ROG’s Rocket League squad featuring some of the best Rocket League talent, drafted from teams such as Epsilon and Unilad, it just wasn’t enough in this instance as Hashtag - literally - ran circles around the army.
With the debut matches of Season 4 Rocket League over, there was no time for dwelling on misses and bad passes, as the franchises would face each other later that evening in the first match-ups of Street Fighter V...
Week 1 is over, and we've started Elite Series Season 4 in white-hot fashion ?.
Get your FREE tickets to come and watch all the action in the Gfinity Arena here on Eventbrite, and you'll also be able to watch live exclusively on Facebook every single week:
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