I have an awesome guest today that I'm excited to introduce to you guys. He started playing in small tournaments a while ago and has swiftly risen to the rank of Grand Champ. I had a great time talking to him and his answers were really thought out, so I hope you guys enjoy the conversation and take something useful away from it. Our guest primarily focuses on the ESL tournaments so before we dive into the interview, I'd like to briefly touch on some of the other tournaments you can jump in.

As Rocket League has grown, so has the number of open registration tournaments. Now you don't have to be a Grand Champ to have the opportunity to play with and learn from Grand Champs. I'm sure everyone is familiar with the ESL tournaments, but you may not realize that there are plenty of other tournaments out there calling your name. Whether you play solo, doubles, standard, or hoops, you can rest assured that there are tournaments out there for it that you can enter. Some tournaments are only available to certain ranks, for example, a Platinum - Diamond tournament where only Platinum and Diamond players are allowed to enter.

I've even seen a league for players over the age of thirty who run tournaments regularly. Most of these events are even FREE and offer the winners a cash prize. Rocket League Garage (https://rocket-league.com/) has one of the most consolidated calendars I've come across and is a great place to find all kinds of open tournaments available in every region. They have a lot, but obviously they can't have every small tournament out there. If you are interested in a type of tournament you don't see on their calendar, just give a quick search on Google and you'll most likely have a couple of options.

Now, I'm not saying that you should sign up for one of these tournaments with hopes of winning. In fact, I would go into it expecting to lose but willing to put up a fight. It really doesn't matter what type of tournament you enter. The truth is that there are going to be regulars in that community that will be way more prepared than you. Throw yourself in a little over your head and force yourself to try and rise to the occasion. The more you challenge yourself, the more you'll grow as a player. Be prepared for the loss, but use it as a learning tool. Try to keep up with the other teams and save your replays. They say that you learn from your mistakes and your mistakes become a lot more obvious from the perspective of the other team.

Now, let's get back to our guest. Jordan "Crispy2127" Steffen started playing in tournaments when he was ranked in Diamond and managed to pull himself up to Grand Champ in a short amount of time. It took a lot of hard work and he wants to offer players some insight into how to approach and learn from these smaller tournaments. Crispy has seen a lot and learned even more in the time that he's been playing these tournaments and he has some great tips and pointers for those of us who haven't yet reached the rank of Grand Champ. To listen to the full interview and hear the longer version of Crispy's answers, check out the video at the bottom.





Alright Crispy, how long have you been playing in these tournaments.

Crispy2127: About eight to nine months? Probably a good nine months at this point.





What is the minimum rank someone should be before jumping into a tournament or is there a minimum in your opinion?

Crispy2127: I'd say that's completely tournament-based. For ESL, don't even bother unless you're high Champ 1 or Champ 2 at the minimum, but there are a lot of tournaments out there for lower ranked players wanting to get into tournaments.





Do you play in any tournaments aside from ESL?

Crispy2127: ESL is really the one we practice for and try hard for, but I play any tournament I'm really invited to. I'm like if you set it up, you just give me a time and a place and I'll be there man.





How should players approach their first tournament?

Crispy2127: I would go in there humble.





What are some of the things you work on to improve as an individual and how does that change when applied to a team environment?

Crispy2127: First of all, I have to get my ones game down just because my ones lack. I'm certainly more of a team player. That, and I'm working on my reverse 45-degree flicks.





What would you say is the most useful skill in the upper Champ and Grand Champ levels?

Crispy2127: Reading the ball. If you're slow getting there, you're going to get beat and they're going to read that very early in the game.





Do you think you would have hit Grand Champ if you never started playing in these tournaments?

Crispy2127: I feel like I would've but certainly not in the time I did. It certainly speeds the process. Absolutely speeds it up, by a lot too.





Any last parting advice for the players out there hoping to hit Grand Champ someday?

Crispy2127: Find someone around your skill level and work with them. You build chemistry up when your Diamond 1 and you guys both make it to Grand Champ individually, you guys will be absolutely insane.

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