Heroic have entered the Rocket League Championship Series by signing Dutch Rocket League team The Flying Dutchmen, the organization announced on Monday.
The Flying Dutchmen consist of Jos “ViolentPanda” van Meurs, Ole “Oaly” van Doorn, Thomas “ThO” Binkhorst and Coach John “Virge” Willis. All three Dutchmen left their previous rosters and teamed up together for the RLCS 2021-2022 season. An organization announcement was already expected after the team bootcamped in Norway for the second fall regional (where they finished top-eight), but the official reveal occurred over a week later.
WELCOME TO THE HEROIC FAMILY!❤️
We are excited to announce that “The Flying Dutchmen” are officially a part of Heroic. We are ready to push the performance to the next level, with this up-and-coming team.
Give them a warm welcoming @ViolentPandaRL @ThO_RL @OalyRL @Virge ❤️🙏 pic.twitter.com/MBrhUPykfX
— HEROIC (@heroicgg) November 15, 2021
Heroic enter the RLCS
After ThO shared a picture from the team’s bootcamp, speculations began. However, a Norwegian shopping bag was seen in the background, so Heroic quickly stood out as a possibility to take the plunge into Rocket League. But, when it was The Flying Dutchmen’s turn to play, no announcement came. It took another week for the organization to reveal it, but Rocket League has brought in another well-known organization after Natus Vincere, Evil Geniuses, Complexity and Misfits Gaming announced their rosters earlier in the season.
All players from the new Heroic roster have proven to be strong players in the RLCS. ViolentPanda is a two-time world champion, while ThO and Oaly impressed since the later seasons. The three teamed up in the offseason, where ThO and Oaly claimed second place together in the Olympic tie-in event, the Intel World Open.
“Right now I would already call us a top-eight team,” ViolentPanda said. “We have a lot of potential, a lot of skill, raw talent in the team. If we work things out together, we can be a great team.”
ViolentPanda is known for scouting talent, having introduced Maëllo “AztraL” Ernst, Jack “ApparentlyJack” Benton and Joris “Joreuz” Robben to the RLCS in previous seasons.
ThO, ironically, was removed from his previous team Guild Esports in favor of Daniel “Bluey” Bluett. And while ThO is now thriving on Heroic, Guild Esports have begun to struggle to even qualify for RLCS events.
Oaly was a standout player on his previous team, Wolves Esports. When the roster fell apart at the end of the season, the rookie Dutchman made a name for himself even more by shining in the Intel World Open with individual highlight plays and a silver medal. The all-Dutch team quickly formed afterward.
Heroic have a tough task ahead of themselves in order to qualify for the RLCS fall major, which is happening in Dec. They will have to finish above both Team Vitality and SMPR Esports, as well as their two fellow seventh place teams in the third and final regional, in order to overtake them in the rankings.
