It is December of 2019 in Madrid, Spain, and North American Rocket League legend Garrett “GarrettG” Gordon finally lifts the RLCS Season 8 World Championship trophy after seven seasons of losses. Following an intense and iconic match against Team Vitality in the grand final, defending world champion Victor “Fairy Peak!” Locquet passes on the crown to NRG Esports.
Hugging GarrettG, he tells him, “I’m so happy for you.”
That was the last time fans saw Rocket League players on an RLCS stage — two full years, due to the COVID-19 pandemic moving matches online.
Now, with the first RLCS LAN since GarrettG took home the title starting on Wednesday in Stockholm, Sweden, players have been dwelling on what it means to return to or debut on the international Rocket League stage.
LANs are about more than the game for Fairy Peak!
Fairy Peak! of Team Vitality has been one of the greatest Rocket League veterans since his RLCS Season 7 World Championship victory and Season 8 silver medal. However, Team Vitality almost did not make it to the 2021-2022 Fall Split Major, so their return to LAN after two years is even more significant for FairyPeak!.
“A LAN is really different from playing at home or even in boot camp,” Fairy Peak! said. “You can meet all the players you play all day on ranked and tournament here, you can hang out with friends you made on the game. It’s not just about playing on LAN — it’s about the whole trip, and it’s really, really something we wanted.”
Enjoying that sense of togetherness will be all the more important considering the fact that, despite Team Vitality being the longest-standing roster at the Fall Split Major, they have yet to play a LAN together. Yanis “Alpha54” Champenois joined the team in January of 2020 following Vitality’s grand final loss in Season 8. And since Alpha54 never got to help his team win back the crown from NRG Esports after the RLCS Season 9 World Championship’s cancellation, Team Vitality will need to click to do so now.
CJCJ’s special return to LAN at the RLCS Fall Split Major
Cameron “CJCJ” Johns, who competes in the Oceanic region with Renegades, has been absent from an RLCS LAN for more than three years since he failed to qualify for the Season 7 and 8 World Championship. However, the joyful Australian, famous for his positive attitude and funny stage walkouts, is finally returning for the international LAN.
Walkout game on point @CJCJ_RL #LANdon https://t.co/PpKjSDFoZt pic.twitter.com/SOJY6ZzZ6M
— Rocket League Esports (@RLEsports) June 8, 2018
“Obviously it’s been a couple of years since the last Rocket League LAN, so it’s going to be a pretty significant one for players and fans alike,” CJCJ said. “It really is special to me. I feel that my past successes and failures have all led me to this point and I couldn’t be more excited to share the experience with [Renegades].”
Renegades looked strong in Oceania this season, having beaten rivals and last season’s OCE RLCS winners Ground Zero Gaming twice in a regional grand final. But their true test comes in Stockholm, where they will face Europe’s No. 1 seed, Team Endpoint, in the first round.
