Event Chronicles – RLCS Season 2 Europe Regional Championship
In the fall of 2016, the second season of the Rocket League Championship Series brought Europe a full league calendar of its own. Across eight teams, four weeks of round robin play, and a two week online finals, the European bracket turned early parity into a clear hierarchy. By the time the last ball dropped on November 13, FlipSid3 Tactics had converted years of near misses into an emphatic regional title, and Europe had its four representatives for the trip to Amsterdam.
The Tournament Format and Stakes
RLCS Season 2 Europe ran from September 25 through November 13, 2016, as an online league followed by a two stage finals. The season carried a total European prize pool of fifty three thousand dollars, with teams earning appearance money for each league match and additional payouts during the online finals. Esports earnings records list the tournament as an online event with that total purse, reflecting both league stipends and the playoff distribution.
League play featured eight European teams in a single round robin over four Sundays. Every series was played three versus three in a best of five format. Each match awarded a five hundred dollar stipend to the teams involved, and the standings determined two separate things: who went directly into the regional championship bracket, and who had to survive an extra elimination weekend just to join them. The top two teams in the table earned automatic spots in both the Amsterdam LAN and the second week regional championship, while the teams that finished third through sixth advanced to the first week Regional Playoffs. Seventh and eighth were eliminated at the end of league play.
The Teams That Defined Europe
Season 2 Europe brought together a mix of veteran lineups and rising contenders. Northern Gaming, built around Remkoe, Maestro, and Miztik, came into the season as a favorite at the top of the region. FlipSid3 Tactics fielded a core of gReazymeister, kuxir97, and Markydooda, a trio already considered one of the most mechanically gifted in Rocket League. MockIt Aces paired Deevo, Paschy90, and ViolentPanda in a roster that could score in bunches, while Precision Z united Kaydop, Sikii, and Skyline as a disciplined French led lineup.
Behind that top group, Red Eye, REUNITED, OhMyDog, and Summit rounded out the field. Red Eye’s French core tried to grind out wins against stronger opponents. REUNITED had just acquired the Supersonic Avengers roster, with Doomsee, ELMP, and Snaski trying to prove they could hang with the continent’s best. OhMyDog, led by al0t, Dogu, and Turbopolsa, arrived with an aggressive style and a reputation as dangerous upset artists. Summit, built around Flarke, Jessie, and Sebadam, entered as long shots trying to establish themselves in a stacked region.
League Play and a Crowded Table
League play never settled into a simple hierarchy. When the round robin ended, Northern Gaming, FlipSid3 Tactics, and MockIt Aces all finished with matching five win, two loss records, with Precision Z one series behind at four and three. Red Eye and REUNITED each finished three and four, OhMyDog two and five, and Summit one and six. Game differential separated the top three and gave Northern the regular season title at seventeen games won and ten lost, with FlipSid3 just behind at seventeen and eleven, and MockIt at nineteen and thirteen.
Week by week, that parity showed up in the broadcast. Europe’s very first league day saw FlipSid3 edge Red Eye in a five game opener, while MockIt Aces ripped through OhMyDog and Summit in back to back sweeps. Precision Z split results against REUNITED and Northern in their own double header.
The second week produced one of the most remembered upsets of the entire season. OhMyDog entered as clear underdogs against Northern Gaming yet stole the series three games to two, a result that ESPN’s weekly recap framed as a statement that OhMyDog could push beyond the fringes of the playoff picture. Later that same weekend, Northern steadied themselves by winning a five game slugfest against MockIt, while FlipSid3 rolled through Precision Z and REUNITED with a combined record of six wins and three losses across two series.
By Week 3 and Week 4, every team felt the pressure of tiebreakers. MockIt Aces went on a run through Precision and Summit. Precision Z answered by sweeping Red Eye one day and dropping close series elsewhere. REUNITED traded sweeps and shutouts, and Summit’s lone match win in the entire season came against Northern Gaming, a brief glimpse of form in an otherwise difficult campaign. OhMyDog upset FlipSid3 in a convincing sweep during Week 3, only for FlipSid3 to answer late in the season with a dominant three to zero win over Northern that helped secure their top two place.
Even the standings themselves became part of the story. Fandom’s archived version of the league table notes that MockIt Aces was briefly listed above FlipSid3 Tactics in the original records. After officials aligned the published standings with the written RLCS rules for tiebreakers, the order was reversed and FlipSid3 was confirmed in second place, with MockIt in third. Northern remained on top, but that correction shaped the playoff path by ensuring FlipSid3 skipped the first weekend and entered straight into the regional championship bracket.
The Regional Playoffs: MockIt and Precision Fight Through Stage One
With league play complete, the third through sixth place teams entered the Regional Playoffs on November 6 in a compact double elimination bracket. MockIt Aces, Precision Z, Red Eye, and REUNITED met in a best of five gauntlet that would send only two teams onward to the second stage.
In the winners bracket semifinals, MockIt opened by defeating REUNITED three games to one, while Precision Z handled Red Eye by the same score. Precision then took the winners final three to one over MockIt, a result that temporarily pushed MockIt to the brink of elimination and secured Precision one of the two qualifying spots for the following week.
The losers bracket became the last lifeline for Red Eye and REUNITED. Red Eye survived their first elimination match against REUNITED in a three to two series and briefly appeared poised to climb out of the lower half of the bracket. That run ended in the lower final when MockIt recovered from their winners final setback and eliminated Red Eye three games to one, claiming the second qualifying position. With that, Precision Z and MockIt Aces joined Northern Gaming and FlipSid3 Tactics in the regional championship field.
All of these matches were broadcast live on the official Rocket League Twitch channel, and their individual game VODs were later archived on YouTube. The playoff highlight reels that followed, including Psyonix’s Top Plays for the EU Regional Playoffs, preserved the most spectacular saves, ceiling shots, and passing plays from a weekend that decided which European teams were even allowed to play for the title.
Regional Championship Sunday
One week later, on November 13, the four surviving European teams returned for the RLCS Season 2 EU Regional Championship. This second stage used a simple four team single elimination bracket with a best of seven format. Every series now carried two layers of stakes: prize money on the day and seeding, momentum, and prestige heading into the Amsterdam Grand Finals.
The first semifinal, Northern Gaming against MockIt Aces, turned into one of the best long series in early RLCS history. Northern, the top seed from league play, needed every bit of their consistency to escape a seven game fight. MockIt pushed the set the distance and repeatedly forced Northern to answer with late goals and composure, but Northern claimed the series four games to three and secured their place in the final.
On the other side of the bracket, FlipSid3 Tactics met Precision Z. Precision had just survived a tense double elimination weekend, but against FlipSid3 the difference in pressure and finishing quality became obvious. FlipSid3 controlled the majority of the series and closed it out four games to one, booking their spot in the regional final and confirming that they were still climbing in form as the season approached its conclusion.
Before the championship series, MockIt and Precision played a third place match that ended in a four to zero sweep for MockIt. That result locked in the full top four order for Europe and helped determine how the region’s teams would be seeded in Amsterdam.
The Final: FlipSid3 Tactics Complete the Climb
The championship match between Northern Gaming and FlipSid3 Tactics offered a rematch of two very different strengths. Northern came in as the number one seed from league play, with a record that reflected their steady approach and dependable rotations. FlipSid3 came in under the weight of high expectations, with years of top finishes and a style built on mechanical innovation and high pressure offense.
On the day, the final never turned into the long back and forth many expected. FlipSid3 swept the series four games to zero. The individual VODs show a team playing as if they had finally aligned all of their pieces. Kuxir97’s reads off the backboard, Markydooda’s passing touches, and gReazymeister’s finishing combined to keep Northern pinned and reacting rather than dictating play. Northern’s usual composure could not slow the tempo enough, and FlipSid3 closed the match with a clean scoreboard that left no doubt about the regional champion.
Psyonix’s official recap of the regional championships listed FlipSid3 Tactics as Europe’s winners with a ten thousand dollar payout, followed by Northern Gaming with six thousand five hundred, MockIt Aces with four thousand, and Precision Z with two thousand. Red Eye and REUNITED, eliminated in the first week, received smaller consolation shares. That same article linked the full Twitch VOD for the European regional championship, which remains one of the primary video records of the event.
Significance for European Rocket League
RLCS Season 2 Europe did more than crown a champion. The league established an early European hierarchy, separating a clear top four from the rest of the field while still leaving enough space for upsets that reminded viewers how narrow those gaps could be. Northern Gaming’s regular season title and their seven game semifinal win showed their resilience and structure. MockIt Aces and Precision Z proved that high scoring offense and disciplined team play could both find space in the same bracket.
Above all, the season marked a turning point for FlipSid3 Tactics. Their five and two league record, late season sweep of Northern, and dominant four game regional final combined into a European campaign that finally matched the expectations placed on the roster’s individual talent. When the top four teams from Europe boarded planes for Amsterdam, they did so with FlipSid3 carrying the title of European regional champion and the weight of representing a region that had just proven its depth on the RLCS stage.