RLO Swipe Series 2v2 Championship Playoffs

Just like that, the RLO Swipe Series is officially finished, with yesterday’s 2v2 Championship Playoffs capping off 8 weeks of action packed game play. Despite our predictions going 9/9, it was still an interesting day of matches which produced some high quality Sideswipe, and hopefully won’t be the last we see with this prize pool and caliber of players.

Scarth/Matro Vs Imagine Losing

After Imagine Losing’s rise to the top of OCE with a semi finals win over Scarth/Matro in week 6, this match promised to be a hard fought one.

Despite Scarth and Matro easing to a game 1 victory, and with Scarth scraping in a great gold shot to start game 2, but now it was Imagine Losing’s turn to come back. Portal waited patiently for Matro to be stuck on low boost, pushing it past for an easy goal, before a reset goal granted them an overtime victory.

Yet heading into game 3, Scarth/Matro began their prevention of the week 6 loss, with Scarth scoring off the bat and Matro’s long shot finding a second, before a calculated play from Matro left him as the only player with field, as he was able to find the finish through chaos to seal the game.

After a largely defensive game, Portal flicked over Scarth for the first in a slight defensive error, but Scarth was quick to make up for error not once, but twice, with the second finishing the game off in overtime an unbelievable low purple shot to win the series 3-1

Underdogs Vs Gold Coast MelonChasers

These two presented us with another first in a playoffs bracket, as the combination of fire and ice on the MelonChasers and Underdogs’ consistency came head to head.

Starting off the game, the MelonChasers were keen to prove to prove they’re more than just the #8 seed, with Rizzo beating both players twice to set up a goal for both Melon and himself, before a Melon 50, Dark King own goal, and open net finish from Rizz piled on a dominant game 1 5-0 win.

After an unfortunate touch from Melon put Rizz out of position in the second, Melon tried to respond with a high gold shot, but the MelonChasers just didn't quite looking set, with Rizz beat out by Avenged's bounce shot off the ceiling, before losing a bounce 50 with Avenged straight after, with a perfect read from Avenged securing his triple and tying up the series 1-1.

Despite Avenged once again getting the ball past Rizz on the goal line for the first, the MelonChasers were unfazed, with Melon's high shot straight after tying up the match, and even with Melon caught out of position by Avenged's brutal offence, he once again responded quickly at the other end, and found his hat trick with a 50. Rizz unfortunately own goaled to tie the game, representing an overall shaky match for him, but as a good team mate always is, Melon was there to back him up, sending the Underdogs out of position on defence. His high finish secured the 4-3 win off a strong solo performance, putting the MelonChasers 2-1 up in the series.

But coming off a rough couple games, Rizz responded beautifully in the 4th game, playing pristine defence, before a perfect 50 and pressure at the other end gave Melon a finish as easy as they come, with Melon's kickoff goal finishing off the series 3-1, and sending the MelonChasers through to the top 6 in an impressive show of Sideswipe.

Imagine Losing Vs Gold Coast MelonChasers

Coming off a win, and with nothing to lose now, the MelonChasers were quick out of the blocks once again, with Rizz putting on the defensive clamps throughout game 1, before unfortunate defensive positioning caused Lobby to own goal. But Imagine Losing are a top 4 team for a reason and proved it here, with Portal sneaking it under Melon with 2 seconds left for the tie, before Lobby faked past Melon and won the 50 with Rizz to secure the 2-1 win in overtime.

MelonChasers fought hard in the second game to keep their run alive, with a quick turn around finish from a Melon pass keeping hopes high, but a bounce 50 from Portal and an out of position Melon on a Lobby long clear left them down 2-1. With the game hanging in the balance, both Rizz and Melon’s shots grazed the crossbar, and with their opportunity to tie vanquished, Lobby quickly found the counter attack goal to lock in a 2-0 series lead.

With their tournament chances now inches away from disappearing, the MelonChasers rose to the occasion at the beginning of game 2, with Rizz finding a fake into deft flick goal, before Melon scored an incredible gold shot through traffic.

Yet this was where Imagine Losing found the difference between themselves and the MelonChasers, who seemed overwhelmed with the pressure they were applying, with Rizz making a rare defensive error and Melon’s tight defensive unable to keep out a relentless team play goal, before Lobby snuck it past Melon for the third and a full field ceiling pinch from Portal put the nail in the series coffin, 3-0, and sent the MelonChasers home in 6th, with Imagine Losing advancing to play Peak and Ocean

Sour S’mores Vs Les Renards

A battle of Schmory’s mechanical prowess with Les Renards’ calm, measured game style appeared early on to be bound for an upset. Despite unlucky positioning causing Foxxy to tap in an own goal, he quickly responded with a perfect midfield read and high finish to tie it up, and even with Sour’s shot off the ceiling having too much pace for Frenchie, much alike to Foxxy, he quickly bounced back with a clean finish, before a Schmory defensive error granted Les Renards the win, and putting Sour S’mores in a precarious position this early in the tournament.

Starting off game 2, the S’mores seemed to be in all sorts, as Foxxy again snuck a goal in high to take the early lead.

But there is a very good reason why Schmory was the 1s champion on Tuesday, and he put it on display for all to see for the remainder of the series, beating both Foxxy and Frenchie twice on defense to steal game 2, before two purple shot plays and a straight forward finish secured a hat trick and game 3 victory, sending the Sour S’mores to a 3-0 lead.

In game 4, with Les Renards up against the ropes, they struggled to produce their normal defensive plays, with Schmory’s relentless, brutal shooting ability found him six goals, with Sour’s ceiling pinch and passes helping the Sour S’mores to finish the series with a bang, taking the game 7-0 and progressing to the top 6

Deathlikepeak/Ocean Vs Semicircle

In the past, this would have been a very tight matchup, but unfortunately, Semicircle’s lack of training in recent time made this a more one sided affair than would have been previously expected.

After Ocean rolled the ball up the wall for the first, Semicircle appeared to have found life, with dunks from both Hammertoes and Fin granting them the 2-1 lead. But their good will was short lived, as Peak’s shot from high quickly tied it up, before Ocean capitalized on a defensive miscommunication to take the lead, locking it in Semicircle’s half for the rest of the game to secure the win.

In the second game, Ocean and Fin both put the clamps on their nets, sending the game to overtime without a goal scored. Yet unfortunately for Semicircle, Ocean found himself a 1v1 with Fin straight away in overtime, flicking it too high for his defence to secure the win just 8 seconds into it.

With Semicircle’s back against the wall, game 3 was overall a rather messy game from both teams. Miscommunication, with Hammertoes driving down and Fin going up, gifted Ocean the first goal, before Fin shot over Peak for the tie, but straight after, Hammertoes overcommitted after Fin was drained of boost to give Peak and Ocean the 2-1 lead. Despite Peak’s unfortunate own goal, he quickly redeemed himself with one of the goals of the night, getting an incredible high shot from the ground, which would prove enough to secure the 3-0 sweep.

Sour S’mores Vs Semicircle

In this fight for top 4, Semicircle came flying out of the blocks, looking the hungriest they’ve been in weeks, with Hammertoes producing a beautiful chain stall to go past both players, before Fin got a perfect read for the second. However, as happened in their first series, Semircircle struggled to hold their lead, with a Sour ceiling pinch and two perfect 50s from Schmory in front of net securing the 3-2 lead, with a 1v1 low to high shot to get the hat trick on Fin securing Semicircle’s fate.

In game 2, it was the Sour S’mores who showed why they were a chance for the title, despite being the 6th seed, with Schmory’s devastating offence granting him two clean goals, whilst Sour’s rock solid defence allowed only one goal from a Fin pinch, enough to get a clean 2-1 win and go a game within preliminary finals.

But after a season this long, Semicircle weren’t ready to be finished just yet, with Fin producing one of the best defensive efforts of the season, forming a wall across their goal line, before Hammertoes was able to find the winning, finally taking home their first game of the night.

Although Fin picked up where he left off in game 4 getting an early pinch off the ground for the first, it quickly turned into the Schmory show, as he found the low 50, a quick high shot, and purple shot finish to seal the deal, sending Semicircle home in a 3-1 loss following an admirable fight back.

Deathlikepeak/Ocean Vs Imagine Losing

After some technical issues, the week 6 grand final rematch was underway, with Imagine Losing looking shaky early on, with Portal and Lobby both making errors to gift Peak and Ocean comfortable finishes for the 2-0 lead. However, with the lead in hand, it was Deathlikepeak/Ocean's turn for the nerves to kick in, as they both lost 50s to Portal to grant Lobby a free shot, before a rare Ocean hesitation was taken advantage of by Lobby, before Peak was able to save the day, lifting the ball above Portal on the ceiling to grab the win from the jaws of defeat.

Ocean may have started game 2 horribly, losing a 50 to Portal off kickoff, but he certainly redeemed himself to be the best on the field in this game, finding one of the best finishes of the night with a no boost, no flip flick to tie, a finish off an overcommit, and an ice cold 50 at zero second to lock in a game 2 victory, sending the game to 2-0.

In game 3, Ocean picked up where he left off with a pinch high for the first, and although Portal was able to get past both and get the wall read for the tie, it was Peak who sealed the game, beating both Lobby and Portal with a high finish to win the game 2-1. With this win, Peak and Ocean guaranteed themselves $1000 USD each, sending the rising young prodigies home with their tails between their legs after an otherwise promising night.

Scarth/Matro Vs Sour S’mores

Considered by some as the best two in the competition, this matchup saw the only 3-time champions in Scarth/Matro, taking on Sour S'mores, who had won 2/3 leading into the event. In game 1, the telling sign, surprisingly, was Schmory's defensive errors, granting Scarth and Matro a goal each, and although Sour won a 50 for the 1-2, a Scarth finish from the ceiling ruined any chances of a game 1 comeback after a long zero second phase, sending Scarth/Matro to 1-0.

Heading into game 2, it quickly became the battle of Sour vs Scarth, with the pair trading errors and goals to score a pair each, whilst Schmory was largely neutralised in the air, before a perfect pass from Scarth to Matro granted a 3-2 victory, putting the S'mores on the brink of defeat.

After a Sour double tap started game 3 off perfectly for Sour S'mores, it was all downhill from there, with Scarth finding a goal from high to tie it going into overtime. It was here, with the tournament on the line, that Matro made the insane play of cutting off a Schmory chain stall, finding the overtime goal, sweep, and capping off what was an incredibly poor series for Schmory by his high standards, who for the first time in his successful career, couldn't find the net a single time.

Scarth/Matro Vs Deathlikepeak/Ocean

So it all comes down to this. The top 2 seeds and clearly dominant teams throughout the night produced one of the highest level series' of Sideswipe that I've ever witnessed. In game 1, the teams fought tooth and nail, with the game taking a minute and 46 seconds before Matro was able to sneak it over Peak for the first, before a fake and 50 granted him his second, securing a perfect game for Scarth/Matro.

Yet following a game of near perfect defence, Scarth/Matro faltered not once, but twice, in the second, gifting Ocean and Peak comfortable finishes each for the 2-0 lead, with some incredible defence from Deathlikepeak/Ocean preventing many attempts at their net. Even though Scarth eventually found the net with mere seconds on the clock, it wasn't enough, as Peak and Ocean tied up the series.

Game 3 was certainly a shaky one for Scarth, who missed an open net and made a defensive error to give Peak a free goal, but Matro was there to back his long time team mate up, finishing off the accidental back board pass, before playing the overtime perfectly to drain both Peak and Ocean's boost, sealing the game with 2:46 on the clock to take game 3.

It seemed that early in game 4, Peak and Ocean had found their way back into the series, with a Peak low shot and Ocean kickoff goal helping them race to a quick lead. Yet with Scarth/Matro's backs against the wall, this time it was Scarth's turn to rise, scoring through chaos twice and finding a breakaway with just a second left to secure a hat trick, victory, and a 3-1 series win, taking home the RLO Swipe Series 2v2 Championship and pocketing $1500 USD each in a phenomenal performance from the Rocket League pros.