Rocket League is the world’s most exciting and fast-paced game of all time. Below are only a few of its most iconic moments. Looking back over these moments not only gives one chills but is also a good reminder of some vital lessons in Rocket League we should not forget. Below I have listed 6 of the most critical lessons I have learned watching professional Rocket League and the games that most exemplify those lessons.

#6 Dignitas vs. NRG Season 5 World Championship Grand Finals

Context: After three dominant matches vs. powerful teams: Evil Geniuses, Cloud9, and compLexity Gaming, Dignitas was on to their biggest challenge all season vs. NRG in the Grand Finals. NRG, coming from the upper bracket, only needed to defeat Dignitas in one best-of-seven series to win the World Championship, while Dignitas had to win two back-to-back.

Although Dignitas was defending World Champions, NRG was heavily regarded as the favorite to win this championship given their strong 7-0 regular season performance and pickup of the hottest new rookie, JSTN. On top of that, NRG was the team to knock Dignitas into the lower bracket the day before in the upper bracket semifinals, forcing Dignitas into the lower bracket quarterfinals, where they had to win three best-of-five series just to get back to the Grand Finals.

What We Can Learn: I know what we are all thinking, and yes, JSTN’s zero-second goal is definitely the most iconic moment in all of esports history and probably will be for years to come. However, apart from learning that Rocket League is the most intense, exciting, and never want to miss a moment esport, there is a lot more to learn from this series than just that pressure makes diamonds. In both series, it is clear that Dignitas is the much more disciplined and resilient team, both in gameplay and in mindset. This is how Dignitas managed to get to that bracket reset in the first place. Dignitas' rotations are tighter, their trust was stronger, and their punishing of mistakes was lethal. All three of these examples can be seen in just Turbopolsa’s OT winning goal alone. Dignitas moved like a well-oiled machine, and it led to the World Championship-winning goal when NRG made one positioning mistake.

The most important lesson from this series, however, was how Dignitas did not collapse mentally after just taking the most critical blow in esports history. Immediately after JSTN’s goal, you see ViolentPanda display incredible leadership by giving Turbopolsa an encouraging tap on the side. Without ViolentPanda’s leadership, reassurance, and mental fortitude, who knows if Dignitas would have been able to keep it together for that Game 7 overtime? Let this be an important reminder that your biggest opponent in Rocket League is yourself.

#5 Evil Geniuses vs. Splyce DreamHack Dallas 2019

Context: With Karma feeling ill and unable to perform, Splyce Coach Jimmer is thrown into what would be some coaches' worst nightmare. With DreamHack having an open qualifier, there were some lesser-known teams in attendance, but luck was not on Splyce’s side as they had to face fellow RLCS opponent Evil Geniuses in Round 1.

What We Can Learn: I know, I know, this is DreamHack, not RLCS. However, both teams had just recently completed RLCS Season 7, so it is an RLCS-level match skill-wise. Although Jimmer did not have any sort of MVP performance, nor did Splyce win any games, he didn’t look too out of place once he got the nerves out in game 3.

The biggest thing I still take away from this series, six years later, is that if you have the opportunity to play in a lobby with a higher skill level than you, do not let fear get in the way. In fact, playing with players that are currently higher in skill than you actually makes you perform better, and you will surprise yourself at what you can actually accomplish.

Sure, Splyce did not come out with the victory in either of their two series, but Splyce put up a valiant fight despite Jimmer being only a Champ 1 at the time. Whatever way gets you into the highest level lobbies, make sure to take great advantage of that asset and do your best to keep climbing that playlist.

#4 Furia vs. Moist Esports 2022 World Championship Quarterfinals

Context: Furia, South America’s best roster the region has ever fielded, had gone farther than any other team of their kind has done before. The South America region, having never done better than a top 9 finish at a World Championship, was playing in its region's first quarterfinal match. Although Moist was a heavy favorite to win the entire Championship due to their recent success in winning the Spring Major, everyone knew that if there was a team to do it, it would be Furia.

What We Can Learn: After watching an electric series like that, it is clear that although there was mechanical prowess from both teams, the biggest difference maker was Furia’s ability to dominate the kickoffs and capitalize on the counter-attack.

One of my favorite videos on Rocket League kickoffs comes from Helical on YouTube. Helical’s video is great for those fellow solo-queuers like the vast majority of us. However, as a team, there are hundreds of different kickoff strategies, so I highly recommend you and your teammates research what kickoffs work best for your play styles and adopt them into your game. It could make all the difference next time you face a squad with higher mechanical skill than you.

#3 Cloud9 vs. Dignitas Season 6 World Championship Grand Finals

Context: Back-to-back World Champion roster, Dignitas, just completed yet another dominant season. All they need is one more win, and they will have completed the first-ever undefeated season in RLCS history.

Cloud9, having come from the lower bracket, would have to defeat Dignitas twice to win, exactly how game #6 of this article was set up. Cloud9, getting knocked down into the lower bracket on day 1, upset recent runner-ups, NRG, on day 2, and had just won three series in a row on day 3. But the job wasn’t finished.

What We Can Learn: After this series took place, the lower-bracket team has won 4 out of 6 RLCS Championships. In fact, they knew that this was becoming such a problem that they had to change the format entirely. But why is that? It sounds pretty fair; upper upper-bracket team must be defeated twice since they have yet to lose, as opposed to the lower-bracket team. This is because the entire Rocket League community had come to a large realization. Rocket League is predominantly momentum-based.

The RLCS would ditch the double-elimination bracket after this for the World Championships. The double-elimination bracket would make a return for three different majors a couple of years later, where the lower-bracket team won twice and the upper-bracket team won once. Once again, statistically showing the correlation that Rocket League is too momentum-based to have a double-elimination bracket.

So, what does this tell us as players? Well, for the typical Rocket League grinder, if you are having a rough go of a ranked session and you find yourself rage-queuing, future you would appreciate it if you’d just take a break and go into Freeplay. Like I mentioned earlier, you are your biggest opponent in Rocket League. If you are on a losing streak in ranked, focus on training. If you are on a win streak, don’t stop until you lose! I know it feels bad to end on a loss sometimes, but in Rocket League, you need to ride the win streaks and call it on the loss streaks. Ranking up becomes a lot more achievable when you put this into practice.

#2 Dignitas vs. Vitality Season 8 World Championship Semifinals Game 6

Context: It has been an intense match; games have been back-and-forth all series between the last two European teams remaining. The winner will face NRG in the Grand Finals. Dignitas has just come off a close overtime win to force game 6 on the reigning world champs. Just like their mindset heading into game 5, you do not need to win all three games at once. You just need to win one game at a time, and both teams delivered what is the most exciting game, accompanied by the loudest crowd in RLCS history to this day. (Game 6 begins at 42:10).

What We Can Learn: The one thing that stands out most about this game to me, other than that being the most thrilling overtime of all time, was the backboard play. From ViolentPanda’s insane save to Kaydop’s ever-looming presence on the backboard, control of a goal’s backboard was more prevalent than ever.

Good backboard defense is one of the most challenging Rocket League skills to possess. Not only does it require being able to read bounces, but it also requires mechanical ability to control the ball when your car is sideways like a spider crawling up a wall. The best way to practice your backboard defense is to enter Freeplay and use the ball launch bindings, typically set to the arrow buttons, to practice. Training packs are also good for this, but Freeplay is better as you can get more realistic repetitions.

For PC users, a tool named BakkesMod can offer more customization when it comes to ball launching in Freeplay. Make sure to practice being on the wall, along with reading bounces off the backboard while you are on your own goal line. This is a heavily underrated skill that we just witnessed can have a major impact on the game.

#1 Dignitas vs. FC Barcelona RLCS Season 8 European Regional Playoffs

Context: Both FC Barcelona and Dignitas must win two back-to-back series to qualify for the World Championship in Madrid, Spain. It's a do-or-die series, and Dignitas is uncharacteristically playing slow, missing touches, and unable to score.

Although Dignitas only lost games 1 & 2 by a single goal, watching the series tells a much different story than the scoreboard. After game 3’s blowout, you can hear the despair and frustration in Dignitas' voice. The future is bleak. Dignitas has to reverse-sweep former world champion Deevo and his squad, on top of winning another series after this game. The season seems as good as over, and their chances of qualifying for worlds are almost non-existent until Coach Virge delivers a motivating speech.

What We Can Learn: In case you weren’t sold on the whole momentum thing, here’s yet another example of how much momentum matters in Rocket League. But what I take most from this series is that mindset is the foundation. Without Virge’s encouragement in Game 4 of the first series, none of Dignitas’ success happens as confidence was in the absolute gutter.

Dignitas would go on to place 4th in the World Championship. Let me emphasize, they went from 6th in the region to 4th in the entire world! That is where we get the last examples exciting overtime win from. All because Virge did not let the team get down on themselves and give up, and they responded to his encouragement with belief and passion.

Final Thoughts

Rocket League is by far one of the world’s most exciting games, if not the most. There are incredible moments that are born out of thin air, where the impossible happens. I definitely improve faster at Rocket League the more I watch and learn from the pros.

Sometimes, one has to wonder if the moments are scripted because the drama that unfolds is just too perfect. I know it is hard to wrap your head around all the craziness you just witnessed. Believe me, I am having a hard time pulling myself together as well. So, in case you need a little refresher, here are the most important lessons you just learned from the RLCS’s top games:

• Mental fortitude. You are your biggest opponent in Rocket League.
• Don’t cut yourself short. If you have the chance to play with high-level players, do it.
• Kickoffs are key to taking control of games against highly mechanical teams.
• Momentum is the key to winning.
• Backboard control is difficult yet underrated.
• Mindset is the foundation of Rocket League success. If you think you can or can’t, you are correct. Respond to adversity with excitement.