NRG have something to prove
NRG recently added European star Pierre “Turbopolsa” Silfver to their dominant North American roster to form what many fans believe to be a truly great lineup. Much has been made about how Turbo can add to this roster, but all of that noise is only noise until the roster gets to LAN. This is the perfect debut for the team as it is not in front of a crowd and it is in the US.
NRG have a lot of expectations, but I don’t believe they have to necessarily win to prove the roster is a success. If NRG place top two or show that they are a top team otherwise I think we can all come away with a good taste in our mouths.
READ MORE: NRG add Turbopolsa: Analyzing the big move
Frontline and Vitality vie for the European crown
PSG recently dropped their roster that won DreamHack Valencia after what seems to be a mutual parting of ways. The team will unfortunately be spending their time at Summit as “Frontline” and after several good performances were finally able to secure a huge tournament win in Valencia over NRG.
Vitality despite the French connection have not been Frontline main rival inasmuch as a roadblock. Vitality have been top dogs in Europe for the duration of Season 7, but Frontline’s statement in Valencia shows that Vitality are not alone in the top echelon of European Rocket League. I would love to see a best of seven between the two teams, but we will have to wait for the bracket stage for that matchup.
Cloud9 and the rest of NA post Turbo
Cloud9, Rogue, and G2 Esports all have had great years. Cloud9 was the winner of DreamHack Dallas and finished top four at worlds while Rogue and G2 Esports saw large gains in recent LANs. Despite all three teams showing signs of life, NRG are looking to run away with the second half of 2019 because they brought in a big, splashy free agent. Even with Jayson “Fireburner” Nunez NRG was the best team in NA league play, and Cloud9 has been the only consistent threat to the NA throne.
G2 are the only NA team in the group stage with NRG, and the NA derby will be the second groupstage match overall from Group A. G2 have a big chance to prove they can be top dogs in NA with a strong placement at Summit even if it just means making it out of groups, because Group A feels stacked. Rogue have a much harder climb to making it out of groups, but this team has chugged along all year and cannot be underestimated.
