Event Chronicles – RLCS Season 2 World Championship
In the last months of 2016 Rocket League returned to the big stage as something more than an experiment. Season 1 in Los Angeles had proven that the Rocket League Championship Series could fill a studio with fans and turn a new game into a serious esport. Season 2 raised the stakes and crossed the Atlantic. The season built through weeks of online league play in North America and Europe, regional championships, and finally a December world championship weekend on the canals of Amsterdam where eight teams met to decide a new world champion.
By the end of that weekend, FlipSid3 Tactics had turned a shaky league campaign and an early bracket loss into one of the most dominant lower bracket runs in early Rocket League history. In a theater built on the water, in front of a crowd that had grown louder and more confident with each series, they gave Europe its first RLCS world title and rewrote expectations about which region held the upper hand.
Format and the Road to Amsterdam
Season 2 kept the core structure that Psyonix and Twitch had established earlier in the year. Open qualifiers in each region fed into two eight team leagues, one for North America and one for Europe, with every match played online in best of five series. The four weeks of league play in September and October 2016 decided which six teams in each region advanced to an online postseason and set the seeding for the online final that would ultimately send four teams from each region to the Season 2 Grand Finals in Amsterdam.
League play sent the top six teams in each region to what Psyonix called the Regional Playoffs and Regional Championships, a two week online final. Seeds three through six fought through a double elimination bracket in week one. The two survivors advanced to week two, where they joined the top two league seeds in a single elimination championship bracket. Week one was played in best of five series, and every series in the week two regional championships was a best of seven. The four teams who survived there claimed a share of the regional prize pool and their tickets to Amsterdam.
In total Season 2 carried a quarter million dollar prize pool across league play, regional championships, and the world finals, with one hundred twenty five thousand dollars reserved for the Amsterdam Grand Finals alone.
League Play in North America and Europe
North America’s league opened first and quickly separated into tiers. Orbit eSports, led by Moses, GarrettG, and Turtle, set the pace with a six win, one loss record and eighteen game wins across the season. NRG Esports and Genesis finished just behind them at five wins and two losses each, while Take 3 claimed the last winning record at four and three. VindicatorGG, Revival, Deception, and the defending world champions at G2 Esports filled out the rest of the table. Orbit took the top seed and an automatic spot in the regional championship bracket, with NRG alongside them in the top two.
The North American race was memorable for moments of controversy and for the struggles of the champions from Season 1. An official week three recap from Psyonix highlighted a match between NRG and Revival that had to be replayed after server problems, a decision that stirred arguments in the community but ultimately helped NRG to a five game victory. That same week G2, the Season 1 world champions, lost again in league play after winning the Midseason Mayhem exhibition and were suddenly fighting just to qualify for the regional bracket.
In Europe the story was parity and turbulence as much as dominance. Northern Gaming tore through league play, sweeping Summit and Reunited on one pivotal weekend, while FlipSid3 Tactics wobbled. In week three OhMyDog swept FlipSid3 three games to none, and Mockit Aces followed by winning a tight five game set, pushing FlipSid3 down the table and placing their auto qualification in doubt. Mockit finished that week undefeated and briefly sat on top of the standings.
By the end of league play Europe’s top six looked settled. FlipSid3 Tactics, Northern Gaming, Mockit Aces, Precision Z, Red Eye, and Reunited all advanced to the online playoffs, with FlipSid3 and Northern securing the top two seeds and automatic spots in the regional championship bracket. It was a field that already pointed toward a European heavy story once the world finals arrived.
Regional Championships and the Eight World Finalists
The regional championships in early November 2016 compressed the best teams from league play into two short online tournaments. In North America a six team field played for ten thousand dollars to first place and seeding into the Amsterdam bracket. NRG Esports, with Fireburner, Jacob, and SadJunior, emerged as regional champions. They defeated Orbit in the grand final, while Genesis and Take 3 claimed third and fourth. Vendetta and Revival exited in fifth and sixth and missed the trip to Amsterdam.
In Europe the same weekend confirmed how strong the region’s top four had become. FlipSid3 Tactics won the European regional championship with a four to zero sweep of Northern Gaming in the final, while Mockit Aces swept Precision Z in the third place match. Red Eye and Reunited finished fifth and sixth and stayed home when the LAN invitations went out.
Those results set the field for the Season 2 World Championship. North America sent NRG Esports, Orbit, Genesis, and Take 3. Europe sent FlipSid3 Tactics, Northern Gaming, Mockit Aces, and Precision Z. All eight would converge on Theater Amsterdam for a two day, double elimination bracket that would decide the second Rocket League world champion.
Theater on the Water: Amsterdam Hosts the RLCS
Psyonix chose Theater Amsterdam for the Season 2 Grand Finals, a modern glass fronted venue built out over the water. Official previews described the weekend schedule, the one hundred twenty five thousand dollar prize pool, and the chance for fans to meet top players from both regions in person. For an esport that had started in online cups only a year earlier, the setting and production were a clear step forward.
The format was straightforward. The eight world finalists entered a double elimination bracket. Most matches were played as best of five series, with the upper bracket final, lower bracket final, and grand finals played as best of seven. Psyonix’s own recap later noted that fans in the building saw a seven minute overtime, several reverse sweeps, and a run through the lower bracket that became the defining story of the tournament.
Day One: Europe’s Sweep of the Upper Bracket
If league play had hinted that Europe was the stronger region, day one in Amsterdam confirmed it. In the opening match European fourth seed Precision Z met North American first seed NRG Esports and immediately flipped the bracket on its head with a three to two win. In the second series Northern Gaming swept Genesis three games to none and made a statement about the gap between the regions.
The third match put FlipSid3 Tactics on stage for the first time. Many viewers expected a simple result against North American fourth seed Take 3. Instead Take 3 punched back with a five goal win in game two before FlipSid3 steadied and closed the series three to one. In the final opening round match Mockit Aces stunned Orbit in a reverse sweep, erasing the lead held by North America’s second seed and sending all four European teams into the upper bracket semifinals.
The upper bracket semifinals kept the pressure on the North American side. Northern Gaming beat Precision Z three to one and became the first team to reach the upper bracket final and a guaranteed top three finish. In the other semifinal Mockit Aces upset FlipSid3 Tactics three to one, a result that sent the Season 2 European champions tumbling into the lower bracket and raised the possibility that Mockit might be the team to deliver Europe its first world title.
While Europe controlled the top side of the bracket, North America fought just to stay in the tournament. NRG eliminated Genesis with a three to zero win in the lower bracket, and Take 3 followed by knocking out Orbit in a three to one upset that ended the season of the league’s best regular season team. By the time day one ended, Northern Gaming and Mockit Aces held the upper bracket final, while NRG, Take 3, FlipSid3 Tactics, and Precision Z waited in the lower bracket to fight for the one remaining path to the title.
Day Two: FlipSid3’s Lower Bracket Run
Day two of the Amsterdam finals opened with a clash between the regions. FlipSid3 Tactics faced NRG Esports in a lower bracket semifinal that had the number one seeds from each region sharing the stage much earlier than expected. ESPN’s recap described it as a convincing three to one win for FlipSid3. The European champions shut down NRG’s passing plays and never allowed the North American side to build the momentum it needed. NRG left the tournament tied for fifth, better than their Season 1 finish but still short of a world championship threat.
The second lower bracket semifinal paired Precision Z and Take 3, the two fourth seeds who had already produced upsets. This time it was Take 3 who controlled the series. They swept Precision Z three games to none, secured a top four finish, and earned a rematch with FlipSid3 Tactics.
In the upper bracket final Mockit Aces and Northern Gaming played one of the closest series of the weekend. Mockit edged out a four to three victory that pushed Northern into the lower bracket and guaranteed Mockit at least a silver finish. For Northern it was another step in a pattern that had started in Season 1: strong league and regional performances followed by heartbreaking finishes at the world finals.
FlipSid3’s rematch with Take 3 turned into the most one sided series of the day. After a day one scare, the European champions did not give the North American fourth seed any room. FlipSid3 swept the series three to zero and advanced to face Northern Gaming in the lower bracket final, leaving Take 3 as the only North American team to reach the top four.
The lower bracket final between FlipSid3 and Northern Gaming decided which European powerhouse would reach the grand finals and which would leave Amsterdam with another near miss. According to contemporary reports FlipSid3 were “simply untouchable,” taking the set four games to one. Kuxir97, Markydooda, and gReazy controlled midfield, punished every defensive mistake, and sent Northern out in third place for the second straight season.
The Grand Finals: A Double Four to One
The grand finals between FlipSid3 Tactics and Mockit Aces began with Mockit on the advantage side of the bracket. They needed only one best of seven win to secure the world championship. FlipSid3, coming from the lower bracket, had to win two full series. What followed was one of the most decisive bracket resets in early RLCS history.
In the first best of seven FlipSid3 won four games to one. They pressed aggressively on offense, forced awkward clears from Mockit, and turned loose balls into quick goals. Any memories of the day one upset disappeared as the European champions reset the bracket and forced a final, winner take all series for the title.
The second series followed the same script. FlipSid3 once again defeated Mockit four games to one. Over the course of the two grand final sets FlipSid3 won eight games and lost only two. Psyonix’s own recap framed their defining run as the stretch after they dropped into the lower bracket on day one, when they tore through the rest of the tournament with an eighteen win, three loss game record.
When the trophy was lifted on stage, FlipSid3 Tactics stood as the first European RLCS world champions. Mockit Aces claimed second place and twenty five thousand dollars, Northern Gaming finished third with fifteen thousand, and Take 3 closed their surprise run in fourth with ten thousand. NRG Esports and Precision Z tied for fifth with seven thousand five hundred dollars each, while Genesis and Orbit rounded out the field in seventh and eighth with five thousand dollars apiece.
Legacy of Season 2
In Rocket League history RLCS Season 2 occupies a bridge between the improvised feel of the first season and the more stable circuits that followed. On the structural side it confirmed that a league into regional championships into a world final could hold viewers across months and travel across continents. The production in Theater Amsterdam, the prize pool, and the coverage from outlets such as ESPN signaled that Rocket League would not remain a niche esport for long.
On the competitive side Season 2 settled an early regional argument. North America had claimed the first title. Europe answered emphatically. All four European teams reached the top six in Amsterdam, three reached the top four, and the world champion was a European squad that had navigated both online and offline pressure. FlipSid3 Tactics’ run also cemented the reputations of its players as pioneers of the game’s aerial, fast paced style in a moment when professional Rocket League was still defining itself.
For the tournament itself the story ends with a clear arc. A season that began with an open qualifier and four weeks of online league play ended in a theater on the water where a European team hoisted the trophy and a crowd in Amsterdam chanted their name. RLCS Season 2 proved that Rocket League could travel, could sell tickets outside North America, and could produce a world final where one region’s claim to supremacy changed in a single weekend.