Only one week remains until RLCS S5 comes to an end. Some of the teams are already in London, practicing for the most important matches of their careers. 4 teams will each represent the NA and the EU region, 2 teams will represent OCE.

Rocketeers.gg, the magazine all about Rocket League esports, wants to provide an overview as well as background info about all the teams that will compete in London for a $250,000 prize pool.

NA looks stronger than ever before

North America is desperately waiting for another World Championship title. They haven’t won a World Championship since the inaugural RLCS Season 1, when Cameron “Kronovi” Bills and his iBUYPOWER squad defeated Flipsid3 Tactics in the finals and were consequently signed by G2 – who Kronovi still represents as team captain.

Here are the 4 teams from North America:

G2

The team led by Kronovi comes into this World Championship with a lot of confidence, as the team captain stated in our interview with him. G2 are definitely a force to be reckoned with. They hold the #1 seed and have lost only one single match during league play. Plus: G2 never disappoint when a lot is on the line. That doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ll win the World Championship, but they’re definitely among the favorites.

G2’s roster: Kronovi, Jknaps, Rizzo

NRG

If there’s one team that might feel even more confident than G2, it’s NRG. They played a perfect season, didn’t lose one single match. G2’s only loss was against NRG who swept them 3-0. G2 took revenge when they won the Playoffs Finals 4-3, making them the #1 seed. Apart from that hiccup, NRG’s season is just too perfect to not recognize them as one of the favorites.

NRG’s roster: Fireburner, GarrettG, jstn

Seeing G2 become the team they are today has been insane to watch. Always the most intense series playing them. Definitely deserved Regional Champions @JKnapsRL @KronoviRL @Rizzo_TV. — Garrett (@GarrettG) April 22, 2018

Cloud9

Most NA players are quite hesitant to declare the NA region as favored. But Cloud9’s Torment is not like most players. In our recent interview with him, he stated that he’s convinced that NA will win the title this year. But did he also mean that it will be Cloud9 who will stand victorious after three days in London? Doubtful! Cloud9 is looking good enough for the #3 seed, but they’ve had their ups and downs during league play, including a 0-3 loss against Counter Logic Gaming as well as losses against G2 and NRG.

Cloud9’s roster: SquishyMuffinz, Torment, Gimmick

Evil Geniuses

Evil Geniuses is an organization that’s mostly famous for their Dota 2 squad. However, their first season in the RLCS is quite convincing so far. Their line-up consists of Rocket League veterans Klassux and CorruptedG as well as Chrome, who will go to his very first World Championship, despite having played in every single RLCS season to date. In our interview with him he said that the participation alone “means the world” to him, but we’re curious to see how far Chrome and his boys will come. They might surprise us.

Evil Geniuses’ roster: Klassux, CorruptedG, Chrome

Landed in London time to put in that work ?? — Rob G (@ChromeRL) May 29, 2018

NA Summary: NA looks really strong this year. G2 will be a dangerous opponent to any team they face. If NA really takes the Championship title back home, then it will probably be them or the insanely strong looking NRG squad who’re capable of doing so.

EU, home of the best players in the world

Yes, North America looks strong. Stronger than before, actually. However, the EU region has proven its consistency over and over again. The only reason why there’s no need to point out how strong Europe looks, is because Europe is always looking strong. Here are the 4 reasons why Europe might win another World Championship:

Team Dignitas

ViolentPanda, Turbopolsa and Kaydop played league matches and playoffs under the banner of Gale Force esports, but have signed with esports powerhouse Team Dignitas just in time for Worlds (an issue we discussed at length in this article). No matter what organization they play for, Panda, Polsa and Kaydop are probably still the best team in the world. They come in as reigning World Champions, and they have so much experience that it would be no surprise if they take another World Championship.

Team Dignitas’ roster: ViolentPanda, Turbopolsa, Kaydop

Renault Vitality

Their toughest competitor from the EU region is Renault Vitality. The former Mock-it squad won the Gfinity Elite Series, delivered a fantastic performance at Dreamhack Leipzig in January, and they have Fairy Peak, arguably the best player in the world. Combine that with the experience of someone like Paschy and the insane development of Freakii and you got yourself a Championship winning team.

Renault Vitality’s roster: Paschy, Freakii, Fairy Peak

M;AAAAAAAAADE LAAAAAAAAN HJDSI=)AWJAFDPWEWAOSÜKFL — Philip Paschmeyer (@Paschy90) April 22, 2018

Team EnVyUs

The former Rocket League powerhouse has gone through some tough times. But their latest roster change shows promising results so far: EyeIgnite, the new star player in Envy’s roster, has brought so much energy into this team that they were able to qualify for the World Championship. They might not be a favorite to win the whole tournament, but will likely cause a few upsets.

Envy’s roster: remkoe, Deevo, EyeIgnite

Good thing I make lan and I don’t get to visit another country ??? — EyeIgnite (@EyeIgnite_RL) April 26, 2018

compLexity Gaming

Last season, al0t, Metsanauris and Mognus managed to fight their way into the Finals, where they were defeated by Gale Force (now Team Dignitas) with a 4-0 sweep, but still: The three Scandinavian players made an impressive run and looked promising for future seasons. Back then, the three played for Method. Before RLCS Season 5 started, they signed with compLexity Gaming and managed to qualify for another World Championship. This time, they “only” come in as #4 seed, but we’re talking about last season’s runner up – a team no one should underestimate.

Complexity’s roster: al0t, Metsanauris, Mognus

Summary of EU: We wouldn’t be surprised if Europe wins another World Championship. Renault Vitality and Team Dignitas look really strong. Players like Fairy Peak, Kaydop and EyeIgnite will guarantee a lot of spectacular moments.

Here are the OCE underdogs

The remaining two spots belong to the OCE region. If you followed OCE tournaments recently, you’ll have noticed that their teams are looking better with every seasons. Chiefs and Tainted Minds, the two representatives for the region, take great pride in showcasing what OCE is capable of.

OCE on the way ????♿??✈ pic.twitter.com/8Xrv2TBPrL — Jake 😮 (@JakeRL_) May 29, 2018

Chiefs eSports Club

OCE’s strongest team had a perfect run all the way up to the Playoffs. Chiefs eSports didn’t lose one single match and finished 4 out of the 7 regular season matches with a 3-0 sweep. Sure, the competition is different compared to NA or EU, but still: The Chiefs played one hell of a season, they won’t go down without a fight!

Chiefs’ roster: Jake, Drippay, Torso

Tainted Minds

Going into league play, Tainted Minds were one of the favorites of the OCE region. But they had a couple of ups and downs as the weeks went by. Nevertheless they showed their skill when it mattered most: They made it into the playoffs as #4 seed, but still managed to qualify for the World Championship in London by defeating Legacy (#2 seed) and Dark Sided (#3 seed). That they were swept 4-0 by the Chiefs in the Grand Finals of the Playoffs, didn’t matter much at that point. As team captain CJCJ told us in our interview with him, they were just happy to qualify for Worlds.

Tainted Minds’ roster: CJCJ, julz, Kamii

Summary of OCE: Will an OCE team win the World Championship? Probably not. But the World Championship is a great opportunity to showcase the constantly improving skill level of OCE teams. Their goal is to cause a couple of upsets, and that they might actually do. Plus: They might have a couple of fans on their side there, too. Everybody loves the underdog.