RLO Swipe Series 1v1 Championship Playoffs: Schmory Finds Redemption

Heading into the Championship Playoffs, Schmory was the undisputed king, with a 7/7 record, and no losses for the entire season. Yet in a night of mayhem, upsets and tight matchups, Schmory was faced with huge adversity as the talent of OCE's tier 1 players was put on full display.

Jordy Vs Schmory

Arguably the marquee matchup of the night, this result certainly turned out to be an interesting one. After a few early mishaps, which resulted in Schmory leading 1-0, Schmory made a midfield block onto Jordy, getting the reset to finish comfortably. But Jordy wasn't done just yet, and Schmory showed that even the champ can falter, with a misread on a purple shot high, followed by a sneaky low gold shot from Jordy finds the tie going into overtime, where the nerves truly came out, with Schmory making an uncharacteristic, bizarre stalling error, gifting Jordy the 1-0 series lead.

After some insane early defence from Jordy, Schmory was drained of boost, granting Jordy a high nailing finish, which he quickly followed for the 2-0 lead. Although it was Schmory's turn to come back now, with a Jordy whiff gifting Schmory an open shot, with a replication of his devastating week 6 kickoff granting him the tying goal. However, the tide had clearly changed today, with Jordy clutching up in overtime this time round, getting a perfect read off Schmory's gold shot that generated unreal pace, getting a quick overtime win to go up 2-0.

And the champ has fallen. With the pair trading high gold shot finishes, Jordy was able to get a quick kickoff response for a 2-1 lead, and with a fortunate 50 and Schmory overcommit gifting Jordy the 4-1 lead. Having lost so soundly, after being so dominant for so long, Schmory's mental appeared shattered, forfeiting the game and needing a quick mental reset for the semi finals.

Trademrk Vs Matro

After a good up and under for Trademrk's first, Matro followed up with a dominant finish to the game, pairing an incredible gold shot, midfield read, and some Trademrk overcommits to ease to a 4-1 game 1 win.

Needing a reset in game 2, Matro was in the front foot from the get go once again, nailing a perfect high shot after draining Trademrk's boost. Despite Trademrk's perfect holding of flip and high gold shot, unfortunate positioning caused him to own goal, with some big misplays granting Matro a comfortable 4-1 win once again.

Heading into game 3, Trademrk needed a miracle, and the early halfway read helping him find the lead, with the game beginning a see saw motion as Matro held the ball high perfectly for the tie, Trademrk responded with a flick over the top of Matro, and a mis save from Trademrk sent the game to overtime, where an unfortunate, frame off decision from Trademrk sent him flying the wrong way, gifting Matro the overtime win, sweep, and top 6 finish.

Schmory Vs Matro

Following his first loss of the season, Schmory looked angry heading into this matchup. He forced the first one in through a calculated 50, and following a Matro overcommit, quickly found a second, with a ceiling pinch sealing Matro's game 1 fate.

The dominance continued through game 2, and although Matro won the first half of game 3, Schmory's defence and reads quickly turned the tide, winning the game 3-2, and securing a sweep, locking in a top 4 finish and continuing his run to redemption.

Ocean Vs De-Papel

A big matchup between two rising players, after some technical errors was ready to go. An early error from Ocean enabled De-Papel to go past him for the first, before two overcommits found De-Papel his second and third, opening up a big 3-0 lead. But Ocean wasn’t finished yet, coming back out of his offensive net to nudge the ball in for his first, before a perfect 50 from Ocean made it 2-3, with a missed stall from De-Papel leaving the game all tied up. Despite De-Papel’s flick over Ocean making it 4-3, a good 50 tied it up once again, with the see sawing game 1 ending on an unfortunate De-Papel double tap own goal

After a chaotic first game, it took a defensive mistake from De-Papel a minute and twenty seconds into the game to open up the scoreboard, with an overcommit granting Ocean his second, and although De-Papel managed to find a double tap for 1-2, and low to high power shot for the tie, Ocean outpaced an unaware De-Papel in midfield to quickly find the 3-2 win and 2-0 series lead.

Unfortunately for De-Papel, he couldn’t recover in game 3, with some strong 50s, kickoffs and patient fakes from Ocean leading him to a comfortable 4-2 lead, despite De-Papel’s best efforts with an incredible midfield read off a defensive clear, sending Ocean into the top 6 and De-Papel home packing in 8th.

Scarth Vs Deathlikepeak

A highly anticipated matchup on the night between two of OCE’s best certainly delivered on its promises. Peak managed to call Scarth’s bluff for the first, before he was sent flying trying to find a second, with Scarth finishing from all the way in defence, with a misread granting Scarth his second. Unfortunately Peak was having technical issues in the remainder of the game, causing Scarth to cruise to the win, with Peak needing to take a break to improve his in game experience.

A game down, Peak’s tech timeout clearly had the intended effect, waiting patiently in defense to secure a late break away goal for his first, scraping it off the goal line after a full commit from Scarth to secure a 1-1 tied series, the first non sweep of the night.

With a game now on the board, Peak was hungry for a second, kicking off the match with a bang, purple shotting just over Scarth to sneak into the top of the net for the early lead, but a poor kickoff quickly tied the game up. After some back and forth action, Scarth baited Peak in to gold shot over him, before Peak quickly responded, giving Scarth some of his own medicine. Despite a high flick from Scarth regaining the lead, he followed with a missed stall and defensive play, handing Peak the lead and win in game 3.

After some technical issues again from Peak caused game 4 to be reset, with Peak gifting the sportsmanship goal after Scarth lost his lead from the reset. But after the first goal was gifted, Scarth quickly raced away to a big lead, perfectly reading Peak’s offensive plays to demolish Peak, 5-1, ending the game with some entertainment for the audience in the form of a long chain of midfield stalls.

But with the series on the line in game 5, it was Peak who rose above, making an astonishing defensive save and clear to open up a free first goal. A goal down, Scarth attempted to make use of mind games, but Peak was cool as a cucumber in defence, reading Scarth like a book to find a second and third goal on the counter attack, which would prove enough to take the series home in a nail biting 3-2.

Ocean Vs Scarth

With one coming off a win and the other a loss, Scarth looked hungry for the win, scoring 2 goals in the first 10 seconds and continuing to pile on the pressure for a 4-1 comfortable win.

In game 2, Ocean seemed to have a pad lock over his net, refusing to let anything in, but his hunger to find the winner to tie the series left him making a huge overcommit with 10 seconds to go, which would end up being his downfall.

Game 3 seemed to have started perfectly for Ocean as goal line defensive efforts granted him an open net, but he would miss the shot, allowing Scarth to make finish of his own at the other end. Although Ocean would soon tie the game up, and even get the lead off a bizarre defensive error from Scarth, the Rocket League pro showed his poise late in the third game, cutting off a chain stall from Ocean, before an incredible save sent the game to overtime. With the series hanging in the balance, the less experienced Ocean unfortunately couldn’t hold his nerve, draining his boost on defence to gift Scarth the quick overtime finish and 3-0 sweep.

Deathlikepeak Vs Schmory

These two have been on top since the get go, making the final of the very first event, and as the top 2 seeds, were sure to produce an intense series.

Unfortunately for Peak, Schmory was in full flight from the beginning, getting a perfect stall pop and kickoff goal to go 2-0 within 10 seconds, and although he got a goal line save and full field clear to make it 2-1, Schmory eventually wore Peak down for a third, fourth and fifth in quick succession, locking in a 1-0 series lead.

In game 2, after keeping Schmory out for 40 seconds, the flood gates opened up, as Peak misread a gold shot when on the backboard, was scored on from the kickoff and had Schmory flick it low to go up 3-0 before the match was even a minute down. Peak did mount a comeback with a ceiling pinch and great low 50, before a perfect gold shot from the ground tied the game, but Schmory finished the game in signature fashion with a purple shot pop from low, winning a tight 4-3 contest to go a game away from securing grands.

In the series’ third game, Peak attempted to act like a wall in defence, and although he did for a minute, Schmory was finally gifted his chance to score… and missed. With Peak granted the open net for his first lead of the series, it seemed that perhaps the series was still alive. Yet unfortunately for Peak, luck just wasn’t on his side, as an unfortunate bounce and kickoff gave Schmory the lead he needed, which would prove enough to advance, 3-0, and sending Peak home in 3rd after an admirable performance.

Scarth Vs Jordy

Shockingly, these two have never played in competition before, so this matchup certainly was a treat to watch. Throughout the first game of the series, Scarth had the upper hand from the beginning, faking Jordy out for a death shot purple finish, before a well positioned 50 quickly gave him a second. Following some intense mind games, where Jordy looked slightly rattled, Scarth nailed high gold shot, and Jordy’s overcommits made it 4 and then 5, dominating their first match in their head to head to race to a 1-0 series lead.

After Scarth took game 1 in emphatic fashion, Jordy responded with a precise game 2, nailing a ceiling pinch to grab a late lead after perfect defence, following with a low fake to secure the game and a 1-1 series score line.

The see sawing nature of the series continued in game 3, with Scarth utilising his experience to rise to the occasion, finding an incredible gold shot read off the wall, before going under Jordy and capitalizing on an overcommit to quickly find a third and secure a comfortable win, putting Jordy on the ropes with a 2-1 series lead.

But Jordy has exhibited his ability to come back from adversity before, having lost early in the first 3 weeks, appearing to not even be anywhere near playoffs contention. Here, in game 4, Jordy rose to Scarth’s challenge, slipping it under Scarth for a low double tap finish, and even though a classic Scarth fake tied the game up, Jordy’s speed going high secured him a late 2-1 lead, which would prove enough to tie the series and sending us to game 5.

Straight away in game 5, it appeared that Jordy was overcome by the moment, with two overcommits granting Scarth a comfortable 2-0 lead. Yet it was Jordy who looked like the veteran in the end, producing a clutch second half comeback with an incredible gold shot double tap and low finish to tie the game up, before a Scarth defensive misplay gifted Jordy the overtime win, sending him through to grands in a tight game 5 win.

Schmory Vs Jordy

Not only a rematch of the first match of the day, and our predicted grands matchup, but also an opportunity for Schmory, the player many viewed as the undisputed king of OCE, to redeem himself after the qualifying final sweep.

Kicking off the series in game 1, it seemed that Jordy’s defensive game style was again going to be the kryptonite to Schmory’s mechanical poise, with a full field clear, perfect control off intercepting a stall, and an uncharacteristic whiff from Schmory in midfield displaying the pressure felt by the champ, and leading Jordy to an easy game 1 victory.

Game 2 began the same way the first game finished, with Jordy cutting off a stall to find an open net, but Schmory was quick in response, finding an incredible high shot to equalize. Despite an overcommit still portraying his nerves, his immense pressure caused Jordy to own goal, before the mind games led him to a kickoff goal to take the lead, and the game, 3-2, tying the series.

Despite Schmory looking more like his usual self in game 2, Jordy once again found an extra gear in game 3, blocking Schmory’s offence twice for two transitional finishes, before an overcommit helped produced a 3-0 lead. Even with a low purple shot for the 3-1, a horrible kickoff from Schmory sealed his fate, as he forfeited down 4-1, with his mental seemingly in pieces.

Off the bat in game 4, Jordy scored from high as Schmory was completely lost, and up 2-1 in the series and 1-0 in the game, the king seemed all but dethroned. Yet unfortunately for Jordy, it was his turn for the nerves to kick in, with a defensive error, failed counter attack, and overcommit gifting Schmory the game, as the normally defensive master mind Jordy struggled to keep calm in defense.

And so it all comes down to this. 7 weeks of game play, 8 series’ on the night, and the matchup tied at 2-2, the pair began their final game with Schmory appearing completely on top, as Jordy misread a low gold shot, before Schmory quickly found a second. Even with the 2-0 deficit, and just 45 seconds left to save his tournament, Jordy once again proved why he’s a top 2 player in OCE, playing two perfect 50’s to tie the game up, 2-2.

But there can only be one king, and that title rightfully belongs to Schmory, who edged out a 50 to flick it under Jordy and secure the game 3-2, in a heart breaking finish for Jordy, who’s risen so much in such a short amount of time.

For Schmory, it’s largely a feeling of relief, as his 7 week run nearly came to an end at the worst possible time, however, he is still able to hold onto the championship win, and is now officially the best 1s player in OCE.