In the first year of Rocket League esports, some of the most important brands were not traditional organizations at all. They were player run projects that tried to keep pace with a rapidly professionalizing scene. Among them, Genesis stood out. From its creation in spring 2016 through multiple relaunches and an eventual move into Ghost Gaming, the Genesis tag framed one of North America’s most interesting early experiments in how a Rocket League team could be built and sustained.
Genesis never lifted an RLCS trophy and never became a long term franchise name. Instead, its legacy rests on something quieter but just as important. The roster that carried the Genesis banner into Seasons 1 and 2 helped prove that a player driven brand could qualify for back to back world championships, compete with Europe’s elite, and shape the early story of North American Rocket League.
From Untethered To Genesis
Before Genesis existed, its core players were already fixtures of the North American scene. Braden “Pluto” Schenetzki had spent late 2015 and early 2016 on teams like VQ Untethered and Untethered, playing in the RLC Pro League, early Rocket Royale weeklies, and other pre RLCS circuits. When Psyonix announced the Rocket League Championship Series in the spring of 2016, the opportunity for a more stable, structured project became clear.
On March 29, 2016, a new name appeared on Twitter and tournament brackets. The Genesis project formed around Pluto, veteran scorer Quinn Lobdell, and Kais “SadJunior” Zehri, with substitute Kovanel joining a few days later. The roster quickly began to refine itself. Moses replaced SadJunior in early April, and by early June the team arrived at the trio that would carry Genesis to its first world championship appearance: Pluto, Espeon, and Quinn, supported at times by substitutes like HotWheelsSid.
From the beginning, Genesis behaved less like a traditional club and more like a project flag that top North American players could rally under. The team played almost every week in events such as Rocket Royale and Pulsar Premier League, picking up consistent high placements that built chemistry and reputation even before RLCS League Play existed. The schedule was heavy, but it ensured that by the time Season 1 qualifiers arrived, Genesis were far from an unknown quantity.
The First RLCS Qualifiers And A Rapid Rise
Psyonix structured the inaugural RLCS season around two open qualifiers and online group stages that would feed into regional finals and then a world championship in Los Angeles. In that early environment, there was very little separation between established lineups and upcoming squads. Genesis had to prove they belonged.
The first major sign that they did came in May 2016. After the opening group stages of Qualifier 1, Psyonix published a preview of the online finals and singled out Genesis as the “real story” of the North American bracket. The team had jumped from fifth to third in the standings, not through a single flashy upset, but through what the article described as excellent teamwork over a long day of play. That recognition matters because it shows how the project was viewed at the time. Genesis were not yet a favorite, but they had pushed themselves into the top four conversation on the back of structure and coordination rather than raw star power.
Through the rest of Season 1’s online phase, Genesis remained in that mix. Fandom’s compiled results for Pluto’s career show them consistently reaching RLCS group stages and online finals, usually finishing inside the upper half of the North American field. By the end of the qualifier cycle, Genesis had taken one of the four North American spots at the international final in Los Angeles. They arrived at Avalon Hollywood as the region’s fourth seed, behind Kings of Urban, iBUYPOWER Cosmic, and Exodus, but with momentum and a clear sense that they had already exceeded early expectations.
Avalon Hollywood: Genesis At The First World Championship
The Season 1 RLCS Grand Finals in August 2016 brought four North American and four European teams together on stage for the first time. Genesis drew perhaps the hardest possible opening opponent. The quarterfinal bracket paired them with Northern Gaming, the top European seed and one of the favorites to win the entire tournament.
Northern Gaming swept Genesis 3–0 in that first match. ESPN’s day one recap described how the European side made the series look surprisingly straightforward, controlling possession and punishing mistakes from the North American newcomers. For Genesis, the loss meant an instant drop into the lower bracket and a long run ahead if they wanted to stay in contention.
Their next match turned into the moment that cemented Genesis in early RLCS memory. In the lower bracket, they faced Mock-It eSports EU, the third seed from Europe and a team widely expected to advance deep into the tournament. The series went the distance. Community recollections and European coverage both recall the upset with a kind of disbelief, noting how Genesis managed to edge out a five game set and send a heavily favored European squad home far earlier than expected.
The following day, Genesis met The Flying Dutchmen in another elimination match. The Dutch side had already stunned Kings of Urban and would go on to finish fourth overall. According to Psyonix’s live finals recap, the Dutchmen continued their dark horse run by knocking out Genesis in the first match of day two, ending the North American project’s hopes of a podium finish.
When the dust settled, EsportsEarnings listed Genesis in the 5th–6th place slot with a share of the prize pool and one of the best showings by a non traditional organization at the event. The roster of Espeon, Pluto, and Quinn had come into Los Angeles as a qualifier story and left as the first example of a player run project that could stand on stage with Europe’s best.
Between Seasons: Roster Refinement And A New Core
Even before Season 1 ended, Genesis had begun to evolve. Fandom’s timeline shows SadJunior and Moses moving on from the project earlier in 2016, and by late summer the core had shifted to Espeon, Pluto, and Quinn, with subs rotating in and out as the team searched for the right long term combination.
The most important of those changes came after the world championship. In August 2016, Quinn left the active roster. Shortly afterward, Jason “Klassux” Klass joined, giving Genesis the trio that would define its Season 2 run: Espeon, Klassux, and Pluto.
This core did not start from scratch. The team had already built its internal language and rotations across dozens of online events. Pluto brought years of SARPBC experience and had been part of high level lineups since late 2015. Espeon’s mechanical skill and aerial play gave the roster a scoring threat that could pressure defenses in the air or on the ground. Klassux slotted in as a versatile third man whose consistency allowed the other two to take space and challenge aggressively.
Season 2 League Play: A 2–0 Start And The Title Belt
When Season 2 league play opened in September 2016, Genesis arrived as one of the more intriguing North American teams. They were neither the defending champions nor the darlings of the offseason, but they had continuity, practice, and a clear identity.
Day one of North American league play confirmed that Genesis could translate those strengths into wins. ESPN’s recap of the opening weekend focused heavily on their performance. After dropping the first game to Vendetta 6–0, Genesis regrouped and took the next three games to secure a 3–1 series win. In their second match of the day, they beat Revival 3–1 as well, finishing the weekend with a 2–0 record. The article described them as a momentum based team that looked “nigh on impossible to stop” once they settled into a rhythm.
Community tracking of an unofficial RLCS “title belt” underscores how quickly Genesis became part of the Season 2 story. In that fan made lineage, the belt moved from iBUYPOWER to Revival, then to Deception, and then to Genesis, who claimed it with a 3–1 win before eventually losing it to NRG later in league play. It is an informal measure, but it captures how often Genesis found themselves in the middle of important matchups that shaped the standings.
Start.gg’s preserved league table for Season 2 shows Genesis finishing among the top teams in North America, with a strong winning percentage and enough points to comfortably qualify for the regional championships as a high seed. By the time league play ended, they had effectively confirmed their place as one of the region’s three main contenders behind NRG and Orbit, even if traditional organizations still drew more attention.
Regional Championships: Third In North America
The Season 2 North American regional championship in November 2016 served both as a title event and as a qualifier for the Amsterdam world finals. In Psyonix’s recap of that weekend, Genesis appear in the key middle ground between favorites and upstarts. NRG took the regional crown and Orbit finished second, but Genesis claimed third place and a trip to the world championship, earning $4,000 in the process.
The run reinforced their reputation as a team that could survive long tournament days and high pressure broadcasts. Fandom’s match histories list Genesis reaching the regional playoffs, performing well in group play, and holding their own in brackets populated by organizations like NRG, G2, and Take 3. EsportsEarnings records Genesis with $7,650 in prize money from two S tier tournaments, underscoring how heavily their financial story is tied to Season 2 regional and world championship results.
By the end of the regional event, the Genesis trio had achieved something rare for a player-driven project in that era. Without backing from a traditional multi game organization, they had earned back to back RLCS world championship appearances and consistent top four finishes within North America.
LANsterdam: Second World Championship, Final RLCS Peak
In December 2016, the RLCS moved to Amsterdam for Season 2’s Grand Finals. Genesis entered the tournament as North America’s third seed, sharing the stage with NRG, Take 3, and Orbit, alongside European teams that included Flipsid3 Tactics, Mockit Aces, Northern Gaming, and Precision Z.
The official Season 2 recap from Psyonix lists Genesis in the joint 7th place position. Espeon, Klassux, and Pluto earned $5,000 for their performance and again found themselves on the wrong side of a bracket that increasingly favored European rosters. While the Amsterdam run did not match the high drama of their upset over Mock-It at Avalon, it did confirm that Genesis belonged in the same room as the era’s best teams.
Beyond RLCS, 2016’s late calendar shows Genesis winning or placing highly in events like Rocket Royale weeklies, Mock-It Street League, and Pulsar Premier League Season 3. Pluto’s tournament log for that period repeatedly lists first place finishes in online North American tournaments alongside second place in PPL Season 3 and strong showings in other invitationals. These results did not carry the same prestige as a world championship, but they are part of the reason Genesis remained sharp enough to compete on LAN twice in a single year.
Rebuilds, Acquisitions, And The End Of The Tag
After the Amsterdam finals, the original Genesis core did not stay together for long. Fandom’s team history records the organization disbanding its first iteration on January 2, 2017, with Espeon, Klassux, Pluto, and substitute Fl0w leaving the roster.
Yet the Genesis name did not disappear. In February 2017, the tag returned with a new lineup built around Klassux, Chrome, and Insolences, with Quinn now serving as a substitute and manager rather than a starting player. Low5ive joined as an additional substitute in March. This second iteration aimed to leverage RLCS veteran experience once more, but it lasted only until early May before disbanding.
A third Genesis lineup emerged that summer with Klassux, Lethamyr, and JWismont, later adding Zanejackey. That roster achieved its own measure of success, enough that on August 17, 2017, Ghost Gaming acquired the lineup and brought it under a more traditional organizational umbrella. In practical terms, the move marked the end of Genesis as an independent project brand. Its players would continue their careers with other tags and other organizations, but the experiment of Genesis itself had run its course.
One final attempt to revive the name came in early 2018, when yet another Genesis roster featuring Rapid, Roll Dizz, Pluto, and Shock formed. Fandom dates this fourth iteration to February 14, 2018, but it did not achieve the same level of visibility or RLCS success as the 2016 lineups. After that, the Genesis tag faded from high level brackets, surviving mainly in archives, esports wikis, and the memories of early Rocket League fans.
Playing Style And Legacy
For fans who watched Seasons 1 and 2 live, Genesis are remembered less for a single iconic play and more for a style of play that fit the transitional nature of the era. On offense, they leaned heavily on Espeon’s mechanical talent and aerial presence, with Pluto often supporting as a second man who could rotate back quickly or step forward into passing lanes. Klassux brought stability and positional awareness, making the team difficult to break down once they settled into their rotations. Contemporary coverage, including ESPN’s week one recap of Season 2, highlighted how hard Genesis were to stop when they built momentum and how comfortable they looked when playing from ahead in a series.
At the same time, Genesis always carried the limitations of a project team. Without the resources of legacy organizations, they were more vulnerable to roster movement, burnout, and the simple desire of players to chase better contracts elsewhere. The multiple disbandments and relaunches recorded in their Fandom history show how difficult it was to keep a player driven brand together once the RLCS prize pools and sponsorship opportunities began to grow.
Yet that instability is also part of what makes Genesis historically important. They represent an early answer to a question that every young esport eventually faces. In a scene where the infrastructure is still forming, can top level teams exist primarily on the strength of players organizing themselves, or must they eventually fold into traditional organizations with deeper pockets and broader brands. For a time in 2016, Genesis proved that the first model could work well enough to reach two world championships, upset a favored European side on LAN, and hold a place in North America’s top tier.
Today, the Genesis logo rarely appears in current RLCS broadcasts or brackets. Its presence survives instead in the player histories of Pluto, Espeon, Klassux, and others, and in the early RLCS recaps that mention the team as a “real story” of the qualifier phase or a dangerous opponent in league play. For historians of Rocket League esports, that is precisely why Genesis matters. The organization’s journey maps the shift from informal, player run projects to the organization driven era that defines the modern RLCS, and it preserves the memory of a name that, for a brief but important span of time, stood alongside the earliest titans of the game.
Genesis: North America’s First Project Team Of The RLCS Era
In the first year of Rocket League esports, some of the most important brands were not traditional organizations at all. They were player run projects that tried to keep pace with a rapidly professionalizing scene. Among them, Genesis stood out. From its creation in spring 2016 through multiple relaunches and an eventual move into Ghost Gaming, the Genesis tag framed one of North America’s most interesting early experiments in how a Rocket League team could be built and sustained.
Genesis never lifted an RLCS trophy and never became a long term franchise name. Instead, its legacy rests on something quieter but just as important. The roster that carried the Genesis banner into Seasons 1 and 2 helped prove that a player driven brand could qualify for back to back world championships, compete with Europe’s elite, and shape the early story of North American Rocket League.
From Untethered To Genesis
Before Genesis existed, its core players were already fixtures of the North American scene. Braden “Pluto” Schenetzki had spent late 2015 and early 2016 on teams like VQ Untethered and Untethered, playing in the RLC Pro League, early Rocket Royale weeklies, and other pre RLCS circuits. When Psyonix announced the Rocket League Championship Series in the spring of 2016, the opportunity for a more stable, structured project became clear.
On March 29, 2016, a new name appeared on Twitter and tournament brackets. The Genesis project formed around Pluto, veteran scorer Quinn Lobdell, and Kais “SadJunior” Zehri, with substitute Kovanel joining a few days later. The roster quickly began to refine itself. Moses replaced SadJunior in early April, and by early June the team arrived at the trio that would carry Genesis to its first world championship appearance: Pluto, Espeon, and Quinn, supported at times by substitutes like HotWheelsSid.
From the beginning, Genesis behaved less like a traditional club and more like a project flag that top North American players could rally under. The team played almost every week in events such as Rocket Royale and Pulsar Premier League, picking up consistent high placements that built chemistry and reputation even before RLCS League Play existed. The schedule was heavy, but it ensured that by the time Season 1 qualifiers arrived, Genesis were far from an unknown quantity.
The First RLCS Qualifiers And A Rapid Rise
Psyonix structured the inaugural RLCS season around two open qualifiers and online group stages that would feed into regional finals and then a world championship in Los Angeles. In that early environment, there was very little separation between established lineups and upcoming squads. Genesis had to prove they belonged.
The first major sign that they did came in May 2016. After the opening group stages of Qualifier 1, Psyonix published a preview of the online finals and singled out Genesis as the “real story” of the North American bracket. The team had jumped from fifth to third in the standings, not through a single flashy upset, but through what the article described as excellent teamwork over a long day of play. That recognition matters because it shows how the project was viewed at the time. Genesis were not yet a favorite, but they had pushed themselves into the top four conversation on the back of structure and coordination rather than raw star power.
Through the rest of Season 1’s online phase, Genesis remained in that mix. Fandom’s compiled results for Pluto’s career show them consistently reaching RLCS group stages and online finals, usually finishing inside the upper half of the North American field. By the end of the qualifier cycle, Genesis had taken one of the four North American spots at the international final in Los Angeles. They arrived at Avalon Hollywood as the region’s fourth seed, behind Kings of Urban, iBUYPOWER Cosmic, and Exodus, but with momentum and a clear sense that they had already exceeded early expectations.
Avalon Hollywood: Genesis At The First World Championship
The Season 1 RLCS Grand Finals in August 2016 brought four North American and four European teams together on stage for the first time. Genesis drew perhaps the hardest possible opening opponent. The quarterfinal bracket paired them with Northern Gaming, the top European seed and one of the favorites to win the entire tournament.
Northern Gaming swept Genesis 3–0 in that first match. ESPN’s day one recap described how the European side made the series look surprisingly straightforward, controlling possession and punishing mistakes from the North American newcomers. For Genesis, the loss meant an instant drop into the lower bracket and a long run ahead if they wanted to stay in contention.
Their next match turned into the moment that cemented Genesis in early RLCS memory. In the lower bracket, they faced Mock-It eSports EU, the third seed from Europe and a team widely expected to advance deep into the tournament. The series went the distance. Community recollections and European coverage both recall the upset with a kind of disbelief, noting how Genesis managed to edge out a five game set and send a heavily favored European squad home far earlier than expected.
The following day, Genesis met The Flying Dutchmen in another elimination match. The Dutch side had already stunned Kings of Urban and would go on to finish fourth overall. According to Psyonix’s live finals recap, the Dutchmen continued their dark horse run by knocking out Genesis in the first match of day two, ending the North American project’s hopes of a podium finish.
When the dust settled, EsportsEarnings listed Genesis in the 5th–6th place slot with a share of the prize pool and one of the best showings by a non traditional organization at the event. The roster of Espeon, Pluto, and Quinn had come into Los Angeles as a qualifier story and left as the first example of a player run project that could stand on stage with Europe’s best.
Between Seasons: Roster Refinement And A New Core
Even before Season 1 ended, Genesis had begun to evolve. Fandom’s timeline shows SadJunior and Moses moving on from the project earlier in 2016, and by late summer the core had shifted to Espeon, Pluto, and Quinn, with subs rotating in and out as the team searched for the right long term combination.
The most important of those changes came after the world championship. In August 2016, Quinn left the active roster. Shortly afterward, Jason “Klassux” Klass joined, giving Genesis the trio that would define its Season 2 run: Espeon, Klassux, and Pluto.
This core did not start from scratch. The team had already built its internal language and rotations across dozens of online events. Pluto brought years of SARPBC experience and had been part of high level lineups since late 2015. Espeon’s mechanical skill and aerial play gave the roster a scoring threat that could pressure defenses in the air or on the ground. Klassux slotted in as a versatile third man whose consistency allowed the other two to take space and challenge aggressively.
Season 2 League Play: A 2–0 Start And The Title Belt
When Season 2 league play opened in September 2016, Genesis arrived as one of the more intriguing North American teams. They were neither the defending champions nor the darlings of the offseason, but they had continuity, practice, and a clear identity.
Day one of North American league play confirmed that Genesis could translate those strengths into wins. ESPN’s recap of the opening weekend focused heavily on their performance. After dropping the first game to Vendetta 6–0, Genesis regrouped and took the next three games to secure a 3–1 series win. In their second match of the day, they beat Revival 3–1 as well, finishing the weekend with a 2–0 record. The article described them as a momentum based team that looked “nigh on impossible to stop” once they settled into a rhythm.
Community tracking of an unofficial RLCS “title belt” underscores how quickly Genesis became part of the Season 2 story. In that fan made lineage, the belt moved from iBUYPOWER to Revival, then to Deception, and then to Genesis, who claimed it with a 3–1 win before eventually losing it to NRG later in league play. It is an informal measure, but it captures how often Genesis found themselves in the middle of important matchups that shaped the standings.
Start.gg’s preserved league table for Season 2 shows Genesis finishing among the top teams in North America, with a strong winning percentage and enough points to comfortably qualify for the regional championships as a high seed. By the time league play ended, they had effectively confirmed their place as one of the region’s three main contenders behind NRG and Orbit, even if traditional organizations still drew more attention.
Regional Championships: Third In North America
The Season 2 North American regional championship in November 2016 served both as a title event and as a qualifier for the Amsterdam world finals. In Psyonix’s recap of that weekend, Genesis appear in the key middle ground between favorites and upstarts. NRG took the regional crown and Orbit finished second, but Genesis claimed third place and a trip to the world championship, earning $4,000 in the process.
The run reinforced their reputation as a team that could survive long tournament days and high pressure broadcasts. Fandom’s match histories list Genesis reaching the regional playoffs, performing well in group play, and holding their own in brackets populated by organizations like NRG, G2, and Take 3. EsportsEarnings records Genesis with $7,650 in prize money from two S tier tournaments, underscoring how heavily their financial story is tied to Season 2 regional and world championship results.
By the end of the regional event, the Genesis trio had achieved something rare for a player-driven project in that era. Without backing from a traditional multi game organization, they had earned back to back RLCS world championship appearances and consistent top four finishes within North America.
LANsterdam: Second World Championship, Final RLCS Peak
In December 2016, the RLCS moved to Amsterdam for Season 2’s Grand Finals. Genesis entered the tournament as North America’s third seed, sharing the stage with NRG, Take 3, and Orbit, alongside European teams that included Flipsid3 Tactics, Mockit Aces, Northern Gaming, and Precision Z.
The official Season 2 recap from Psyonix lists Genesis in the joint 7th place position. Espeon, Klassux, and Pluto earned $5,000 for their performance and again found themselves on the wrong side of a bracket that increasingly favored European rosters. While the Amsterdam run did not match the high drama of their upset over Mock-It at Avalon, it did confirm that Genesis belonged in the same room as the era’s best teams.
Beyond RLCS, 2016’s late calendar shows Genesis winning or placing highly in events like Rocket Royale weeklies, Mock-It Street League, and Pulsar Premier League Season 3. Pluto’s tournament log for that period repeatedly lists first place finishes in online North American tournaments alongside second place in PPL Season 3 and strong showings in other invitationals. These results did not carry the same prestige as a world championship, but they are part of the reason Genesis remained sharp enough to compete on LAN twice in a single year.
Rebuilds, Acquisitions, And The End Of The Tag
After the Amsterdam finals, the original Genesis core did not stay together for long. Fandom’s team history records the organization disbanding its first iteration on January 2, 2017, with Espeon, Klassux, Pluto, and substitute Fl0w leaving the roster.
Yet the Genesis name did not disappear. In February 2017, the tag returned with a new lineup built around Klassux, Chrome, and Insolences, with Quinn now serving as a substitute and manager rather than a starting player. Low5ive joined as an additional substitute in March. This second iteration aimed to leverage RLCS veteran experience once more, but it lasted only until early May before disbanding.
A third Genesis lineup emerged that summer with Klassux, Lethamyr, and JWismont, later adding Zanejackey. That roster achieved its own measure of success, enough that on August 17, 2017, Ghost Gaming acquired the lineup and brought it under a more traditional organizational umbrella. In practical terms, the move marked the end of Genesis as an independent project brand. Its players would continue their careers with other tags and other organizations, but the experiment of Genesis itself had run its course.
One final attempt to revive the name came in early 2018, when yet another Genesis roster featuring Rapid, Roll Dizz, Pluto, and Shock formed. Fandom dates this fourth iteration to February 14, 2018, but it did not achieve the same level of visibility or RLCS success as the 2016 lineups. After that, the Genesis tag faded from high level brackets, surviving mainly in archives, esports wikis, and the memories of early Rocket League fans.
Playing Style And Legacy
For fans who watched Seasons 1 and 2 live, Genesis are remembered less for a single iconic play and more for a style of play that fit the transitional nature of the era. On offense, they leaned heavily on Espeon’s mechanical talent and aerial presence, with Pluto often supporting as a second man who could rotate back quickly or step forward into passing lanes. Klassux brought stability and positional awareness, making the team difficult to break down once they settled into their rotations. Contemporary coverage, including ESPN’s week one recap of Season 2, highlighted how hard Genesis were to stop when they built momentum and how comfortable they looked when playing from ahead in a series.
At the same time, Genesis always carried the limitations of a project team. Without the resources of legacy organizations, they were more vulnerable to roster movement, burnout, and the simple desire of players to chase better contracts elsewhere. The multiple disbandments and relaunches recorded in their Fandom history show how difficult it was to keep a player driven brand together once the RLCS prize pools and sponsorship opportunities began to grow.
Yet that instability is also part of what makes Genesis historically important. They represent an early answer to a question that every young esport eventually faces. In a scene where the infrastructure is still forming, can top level teams exist primarily on the strength of players organizing themselves, or must they eventually fold into traditional organizations with deeper pockets and broader brands. For a time in 2016, Genesis proved that the first model could work well enough to reach two world championships, upset a favored European side on LAN, and hold a place in North America’s top tier.
Today, the Genesis logo rarely appears in current RLCS broadcasts or brackets. Its presence survives instead in the player histories of Pluto, Espeon, Klassux, and others, and in the early RLCS recaps that mention the team as a “real story” of the qualifier phase or a dangerous opponent in league play. For historians of Rocket League esports, that is precisely why Genesis matters. The organization’s journey maps the shift from informal, player run projects to the organization driven era that defines the modern RLCS, and it preserves the memory of a name that, for a brief but important span of time, stood alongside the earliest titans of the game.