Jake Nordland recaps the latest informal installment in Rocket League’s NA v EU storyline
Psyonix’s unexpected cancellation of the RLCS X World Championship, and its subsequent replacement with yet more regional tournaments, rocked the Rocket League community in April.
The eagerly awaited opportunity to answer the burning question – which is the better region – was delayed once more. And a battle of words ensued across social media.
But when British Guild Esports player Joseph ‘Noly’ Kidd called French star Evan ‘M0nkeyM00n’ Rogez “100% better” than US player Jason ‘Firstkiller’ Corral on Rocket League’s official podcast First Touch, words were no longer enough.
Pro player Slater ‘Retals’ Thomas from the all-American Spacestation Gaming line-up responded to the taunt, asking for an unofficial Guild versus NA match-up to settle the dispute once and for all. He also put $1,000 of his own money on the line.
Scottish caster and showmatch aficionado John ‘Johnnyboi_i’ MacDonald seized the opportunity to quench our insatiable thirst for the EU vs NA storyline, bringing Retals together with top NA pros Jason ‘Firstkiller’ Corral and Reed ‘Chicago’ Wilen to challenge Guild on European servers.
On April 28th, it finally happened: casters Johnnyboi_i and Demar ‘Dazerin’ Williams, alongside Swedish pro player Pierre ‘Turbopolsa’ Silfver and retired pro Dillon ‘Rizzo’ Rizzo, casted what quickly developed into a hilarious, lighthearted clash between NA and EU.
Guild came out swinging in defence of their EU brethren, dropping only one game to the North Americans in a strong 4-1 showing that quelled Retals’ strong words and confident predictions.
But the rambunctious 18-year-old stayed true to his word, gifting UK-based charity SpecialEffect $1,000 for failing to live up to his promised NA win.
Guild’s director of esports Grant Rousseau was happy to be on the winning side.
Following the series, Spanish roster Team Queso took on a revamped NA superteam on EU servers, taking home another (closer) win for EU.
One last match-up on the night flipped the tables and saw an all-star EU team face up against NA’s Team Envy on their home turf.
This time, though, the winners came from across the pond as the top European pros failed to take a single game – prompting arguably EU’s best player, M0nkeyMoon, to be renamed #MickeyMoon on Twitter.
The showmatches delivered plentiful banter and a lot of fun – but who will really emerge as the better region in the long-term? The burning question hasn’t yet been answered, but there may well be more cross-region shenanigans to come…
There’s also some more analysis on the EU vs NA Rocket League showmatch in this video by Lawler.
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