There were whispers and rumors, and more and more people were starting to believe it. Now, it’s finally made official: Matthew “Drippay” Den-Kaat is leaving the OCE region to join NA’s Evil Geniuses. This completes the first-ever transfer between two regions in Rocket League.
Roster Update: Evil Geniuses Rocket League — Welcome @DrippayRL from the @ChiefsESC 🇦🇺!
Read more here: https://t.co/6goiOddmuR pic.twitter.com/MAWAdqgv63
— Evil Geniuses (@EvilGeniuses) January 12, 2019
OCE takes a heavy blow…
Drippay is widely considered to be one of, if not the best player in the OCE region. He and long-standing teammate Daniel “Torsos” Parsons have dominated since they were allowed to compete in the RLCS. Their best finish was the recent RLCS season six world championship, where they finished fourth after powerhouses Cloud9, Dignitas, and We Dem Girlz (now TSM). This solidified the rise of the OCE region as a true competitor in the world of professional Rocket League.
As mentioned in the rumors of our previous roster shuffle round-up, this does mean that the pool of world-top players in Oceania has taken a heavy blow. The region is fairly small and to lose a player of this caliber means they will have a tough time finding a replacement. While this is excellent progression for Drippay himself, the region itself will likely find it difficult to fill the hole he left behind.
…but not unexpectedly
With player salaries and top-tier opponents lacking in OCE, it’s no surprise that Drippay went on to find greener pastures. Evil Geniuses will no doubt be able to pay him a better salary. On top of that, he will have much better opportunities to grow as a player now. With just about three weeks total in a year to scrim against NA and EU teams on equal footing, OCE teams really don’t have many opportunities to test themselves against proper opponents. Drippay can now play against North American teams and players to his heart’s content.
All eyes on Drippay
With Drippay having made history, all eyes will naturally be on him during RLCS Season 7. In fact, it’s likely we’ll see him in tournaments beforehand. EG took a risk in taking a player from another continent, having to relocate him as well as team up with him properly for a longer period of time. But that’s exactly what makes it interesting for us, the fans. While Drippay has proven himself on the LAN stage time and time again, he has always done it alongside Torsos, whom he played with for over 800 days. We’ll now get to see whether he can do it with completely new teammates in Jason “Klassux” Klass and Gabriel “CorruptedG” Vallozzi.
Published: Jan 11, 2019 08:06 pm