Team BDS has done the unthinkable and won two consecutive European RLCS X Regionals. The players, Marc “MaRc_By_8” Domingo, Evan “M0nkey M00n” Rogez, and Alex “Extra” Paoli, are playing their first-ever RLCS season after having promoted from the Rival Series, and are not messing around. Having gone through established teams–even favorites–like Renault Vitality, Team BDS always managed to pull a win out of their bags and promptly proceeded to sweep Vodafone Giants in the grand final.
Extra was cool about it in the post-match interview, albeit a bit nervous. “You’ve seen we double committed so many times because it’s the final and we are panicking a bit,” he laughs. “We just scream at each other to go for the ball.”
With the win, Team BDS soars high above the rest of the teams in the standings, with 702 points versus the number two, Top Blokes, at 450. The top 16 will qualify for the European Fall Major, where even more points can be earned towards the RLCS X World Championships. And only the top six of the region will make it to Worlds.
BACK-TO-BACK EUROPEAN #RLCSX REGIONAL CHAMPIONS! 🏆
Congratulations to @Extra_RL, @MaRc_By_8, @M0nkeyM00n, and @BDS_esport!
📺: https://t.co/PpKjSDWZR1
📺: https://t.co/EdJ1meuyNy
🚀: https://t.co/YaSObt9CJg pic.twitter.com/wHwxV35Da5— Rocket League Esports (@RLEsports) September 6, 2020
Team BDS and Vodafone Giants are putting Spain on the map
In the early days of RLCS, not many Spanish players made it to the top. It took until RLCS Season 9 for a Spanish player in Nacho “Nachitow” Gimenez to debut on a starting roster. Now, just one season later, in the grand final of a European regional, three of the six players on the pitch were Spanish; one on Team BDS and two on Vodafone Giants. The Spanish scene has vastly improved due to the efforts of local tournament organizers such as “Ness,” “Isengard,” and “Arkantor,” and that’s bearing its fruits in the RLCS.
The French, of course, have always been a dominant presence in the RLCS, so it is no surprise that they were present in the final with two players as well. The final spot was taken up by the lone German Damian “Tox” Schäfer, whose country isn’t doing too bad for itself either. Tox is, however, the first German player in a European or World final since Season 2 of the RLCS.
Next week, we’re heading back across the pond, where SpaceStation Gaming, equally dominant, will begin the two-week journey to defend their throne.
