Today the North American FusionRL will conclude after seven days of Rocket League action. Wholly unique and hosted by RLCS caster and analyst John “Johnnyboi_i” MacDonald, the $50,000 Rocket League tournament sports a set of modes and rules never seen before.
FusionRL uses 3v3, 2v2, and 1v1 modes, which all add up in a points system. Teams are also allowed four players as opposed to the usual three and are allowed to use these players — and make mid-series substitutions — as they see fit. Johnnyboi has invented an experimental event that might prove fruitful for Rocket League’s future.
A tie in the first-ever FusionRL?
Today, five teams will fight in three different grand finals (one for each mode), but only three will have a chance to lay claim to the top spot. With four players, some teams opted for bringing their usual lineup of three and an extra 1v1 main to bring them the points in that mode. Others already have excellent 1v1 players on their team and did not bother bringing a bonus player on board. In the end, however, all North American teams that made it through the qualifiers ended up playing with their regular three and assigned modes respectively.
Having to adapt from 3v3 to 2v2 to 1v1 in the same tournament has brought interesting results. There are several outcomes where two teams will finish on the same amount of points, in which case the prize money will be split without a tie breaker. But each of the top three can still end up the sole victor as well.
The 3v3 grand final will be between SpaceStation Gaming and Team Envy. The latter is already out of the running, but should SSG win both the 3v3 and 2v2 finals, they are the winners.
The other 2v2 grand finalist is also still in the running for becoming FusionRL champions. Affinity are RLCS newcomers, having promoted from the Rocket League Rival Series (RLRS) just last season. They win only in specific scenarios and will have to share first place in others. Should they lose their final, they are definitely out.
The 1v1 final is the only chance Rogue has to still finish in first place, and even then they must rely on SSG’s and Affinity’s opponents to do their duty as well. They might also end up sharing first place, but obviously they will want the full prize for themselves. They have a good chance at winning with one of the best 1v1 players in the world in Jason “firstkiller” Corral on their team, though his opponent, Lionblaze, is formidable as well.
All in all, it’s not quite so simple to say who needs what in order to win this first edition of FusionRL, which is exactly what makes the final day so interesting. Every game matters. Of course, a lone victor at the top is the desired outcome, but that is exactly why these teams will be fighting tooth and nail to secure just that. For now, there’s no need to worry about specific scenarios. These will be discussed in depth by the analysts as the final day progresses.
EU begins on Monday
Tomorrow, the European portion of FusionRL begins on Johnnyboi’s Twitch channel. Like in North America, several established RLCS teams failed to qualify, while lower-ranked teams managed to secure a spot among the greatest. No one yet knows who will play in what mode, so we will have to wait and see who shows up where. If NA was any indication, we’re in for a wild ride.
FusionRL is one of the many community-run tournaments throughout June and July. While it is not part of Psyonix’s lineup of sponsored events, Johnnyboi does have another 1v1 event coming up that is.
