The Rival Series has expanded Rocket League’s talent pool immensely and has really freshened up the faces in the game’s competitive scene.

With the regular season concluded in the first division, twelve teams have booked their ticket to the World Championship in Madrid, Spain.

Four teams face dropping into the Rival Series from the Championship Series, and who they face will depend on the results from this weekend’s Rival Series Regional Championship.

NA and EU’s top four teams in the second division will face off to decide who claims automatic promotion into RLCS Season 8, and who will have to test their mettle against Cloud9, G2, Team SoloMid and Complexity next week in the Promotion Playoff.

To be clear, no one’s season will end on Saturday and Sunday. The short tournaments just determine who gets to the RLCS without having to play in the promotion tournament.

There are a lot of new teams in the mix given Psyonix’s decision to expand the Rival Series to ten teams earlier this season. Let’s meet this weekend’s competitors and perhaps the next stars of the game.

NA:

Charlotte Phoenix

Stats: 2.15 GPG (2nd), 1.72 APG (2nd), 5.51 SAPG (3rd), 1.62 GAPG (T-3rd)

Roster: Jamie “Karma” Bickford, Jake “JWismont” Wismont, Daniel “Shadow” Manso

Season in review: 7-2, 25-14, +11. Beat Afterthought 3-0, RBG 3-2 and Chaos 3-2 in League Play.

Weekend outlook:

This is the former Splyce roster that finished last in the RLCS in Season 7, but with Shadow in place of Trevor “DudeWithTheNose” Hannah. They looked just as dominant as they did in Season 5 when they earned promotion.

Karma and JWismont have been through this cycle and have experience on their side. All four of the promotion hopefuls in NA have a former RLCS player on the roster, but Charlotte Phoenix houses a team that has played three full seasons in the Rival Series.

They have two chances to qualify this weekend. If they can beat Afterthought in the upper final, then they’re through, but if they lose they get the winner of Chaos/RBG. They beat all three of these teams in League Play, so history might repeat itself and put these veterans back in the first division.

Afterthought

Stats: 2.23 GPG (1st), 1.94 APG (1st), 5.17 SAPG (6th), 1.34 GAPG (1st)

Roster: Nathaniel “Shock” Frommelt, Matthew “Satthew” Ackermann, Chris “Dappur” Mendoza

Season in review: 7-2, 23-12. +11. Beat Chaos 3-2, but lost to Charlotte 3-0 and RBG 3-2 in League Play.

Weekend outlook:

Afterthought were the best team in NA according to goal differential. They had the best offense and the stingiest defense. Their roster makeup is similar to Charlotte’s with two former RLCS players and a Rival

Series Season 7 standout.

This might be the safest bet to qualify for the RLCS. There is a lot of speed and great communication in this team and it feels right to have Satthew and Dappur in the premier division.

Shock originally brought Nick “mist” Costello and Colby “Hockser” James together before WSOE 4, but while his former teammates are heading to the World Championship he’s still in the Rival Series. Not for long.

They need to beat Charlotte or the winner of RBG/Chaos to qualify.

RBG Esports

Stats: 1.85 GPG (6th), 1.62 APG (5th), 4.54 SAPG (9th), 1.62 GAPG (T-3rd)

Roster: Jalen “Rapid” Parker, Daniel “Aeon” Dunfee, Sebastian “Sea-Bass” Becerra

Season in review: 6-3, 22-17. +5. Beat Afterthought and Chaos 3-2, but lost to Charlotte 3-2 in League Play.

Weekend outlook:

RBG Esports have displayed an aggressive interest in Rocket League Esports, and they would be a fun team to have in the premier division. Rapid’s super deep voice would be fun to listen to as a team radio segment like mousesports and Pittsburgh Knights often do.

The stats are not amazing, but RBG found a way to win. Sea-Bass never really got his chance after Allegiance demoted to RLRS after Season 6. Now might be his best chance to make it back to the premier division.

They need to win consecutive best of sevens against Chaos and the loser of Charlotte/Afterthought.

Chaos Esports Club

Stats: 2.00 GPG (4th), 1.63 APG (4th), 4.58 SAPG (8th), 1.60 GAPG (2nd)

Roster: Gabe “CorruptedG” Vallozzi, Alexandre “Taroco” Pedrogam, Jack “mectos” Privitera

Season in review: 6-3, 23-17. +6. Lost 3-2 against Charlotte, Afterthought and RBG in League Play.

Weekend outlook:

Chaos Esports houses the best defense in the region and a hungry team ready to make RLCS. All three of the series Chaos played against their Regional Championship opponents got away from them in the fifth game during League Play, but two of the losses were decided by one goal.

Good defense can keep a decent team in any series, and CorruptedG is not afraid of big moments. He has been to World Championships and won RLCS player of the week. He won’t be scared.

They need to beat RBG and the loser of Charlotte/Afterthought to qualify.

EU:

Discombobulators

Stats: 2.56 GPG (1st), 2.06 APG (1st), 5.24 SAPG (4th), 1.53 GAPG (3rd)

Roster: Lucas “RelatingWave” Rose, Nelson “Virtuoso” Lasko, Nacho “Nachitow” Gimenez

Season in review: 7-2 24-10. +14. Beat Method 3-0. Lost to AS Monaco 3-1 and Team Singularity 3-2 in League Play.

Weekend outlook:

Discombobulators were the best RLRS team from either region, and they absolutely exploded onto the scene. Their game margin, goals per game and assists per game were higher than any Rivals Series team.

Three of the top four goal scorers in the league play for this team. They can run the score up and are the only team from either region to have three players in their first RLRS season in the top four.

They’ve struggled against more experienced teams, but they have two chances to qualify. If they can beat AS Monaco or the winner of Method/Singularity, they’re in.

AS Monaco Esports

Stats: 1.68 GPG (5th), 1.29 APG (6th), 4.12 SAPG (8th), 1.18 GAPG (1st)

Roster: Jordan “EyeIgnite” Stellon, Maik “Tigreee” Hoffmann, Alex “Extra” Paoli

Season in review: 6-3, 21-13. +8. Beat Discombobulators, but lost 3-1 to Method and Singularity in League Play.

Weekend outlook:

This team might have a little bit of Veloce in them. AS Monaco had the best defense in either region. They play quickly and aggressively to constantly keep offensive pressure.

AS Monaco is a classic EyeIgnite team that decides the game in the midfield. They allowed the fewest shots in the region and finished second in the region in shots per game. They’re the good ol’ bim and bam mistake punishers, and they’re an experienced, fast bunch.

If Disombobulators and the winner of Method/Singularity make any mistakes, AS Monaco will punish them on the way to qualification.

Method

Stats: 1.97 GPG (2nd), 1.75 APG (2nd), 5.69 SAPG (1st), 1.75 GAPG (6th)

Roster: Euan “Tadpole” Ingram, Boris “Borito B” Pieper, Rix “Rix Ronday” Ronday

Season in review: 6-3, 18-14. +4. Beat AS Monaco 3-1 and Singularity 3-0, but lost 3-0 to Discombobulators in League Play.

Weekend outlook:

Method is the complete opposite of AS Monaco. They’re a much more offensive team but are also willing to take the game into their own half.

They led the league in saves because they gave up a ton of shots, but Method can create from their own goal better than anyone else in the region. They can pass the ball well, Tadpole is incredibly dangerous offensively and his teammates are desperate to finally make RLCS.

Method has been on the outside looking in for Promotion Playoffs for so long, and they should try and avoid it altogether. They’d need wins over Team Singularity and the loser of Discombobulators/AS Monaco to qualify for RLCS.

Team Singularity

Stats: 1.86 GPG (4th), 1.35 APG (4th), 5.27 SAPG (3rd), 1.62 GAPG (4th)

Roster: Leon “Godsmilla” Mares, Thomas “ThO.” Binkhorst, Joseph “Noly” Kidd

Season in review: 6-3, 20-17, +3. Beat Disombobulators 3-2 and AS Monaco 3-1. Lost 3-0 to Method.

Weekend outlook:

Poor ARG. ARG finished with a +7 game differential and didn’t even make it to the Regional Championship. That’s because Singularity found a way to close out series, and they’ll have to keep that up to make RLCS.

Method is a tough matchup for Singularity, but they looked good against the other two teams in the bracket. If they can slow Tadpole down, then they might make RLCS through the lower bracket.

Saturday’s Rival Series Regional Championship kicks off Saturday at 2 p.m. ET in NA and continues Sunday beginning at noon ET.