With the slowdown in sports betting thanks to the spread of the coronavirus, interest is growing in such e-sports outlets as Rocket League’s spring season. Rocket League is a game that combines auto racing and soccer, published by Psyonix. It first came online for PlayStation 4 and Windows in the summer of 2015 and then for Xbox One and Nintendo Switch a few months later. In the game, up to four players are assigned to two teams, and the players use hit the soccer ball not with their feet but with their vehicles, trying to score goals. The game became an e-sport shortly after the game was released, and the first Rocket League Championship Series had its finals in august 2016, with $55,000 in prize money up for grabs. The Summer X Games in July 2017 featured a $75,000 Rocket League tournament outside U.S. Bank Stadium, and ESPN3 carried the finals. This weekend, we are between Seasons 9 and 10 with promotion playoffs up for grabs. Take a look at the schedule and our thoughts on some of the first-round showdowns. Let’s check the Rocket League Odds for this weekend matches.
Rocket League Weekend Matches April 10th Edition
NOTE: Winners of the Winners’ and Losers’ Finals both qualify for promotionNA (North American) Promotion Playoffs
Saturday, April 11
Rogue vs Stromboli (3:00 pm ET)
Rogue is the favorite here, with average odds of 1.252, while Stromboli would be considered the underdog with average odds of 3.575. As far as recent results go, both teams have won twice in their last five matches. Going further back, Stromboli has won six of ten, while Rogue has won just four of ten.
Rogue did win in their Season 9 finale, beating Flight, 1-0. However, in their last five matches, they only played another team in this top-four bracket once, taking a 3-0 thumping at the hands of eUnited back on February 29. Stromboli also rolled to victory in their Season 9 finale, sending 72 Pin Connector home on the wrong end of a 3-1 result. However, Stromboli has not faced anyone else from the semifinal bracket in their last five.
- Prediction: Stromboli for the upset
eUnited vs Charlotte Phoenix (4:00 pm ET)
These two sides come in much more closely matched from the bookmakers’ perspective, with eUnited available at average odds of 1.841, while the Charlotte Phoenix have average odds of 1.851. Over their last five matches, Charlotte has won four of their last five (and six of their last ten) while eUnited has won one in their last five, with one draw, and has won three times in their last ten.
In their Season 9 finale, eUnited took a 3-0 drubbing from Spacestation Gaming. The lone bright spot in their last five matches came in a 2-2 draw against the Pittsburgh Knights on March 14. Charlotte had posted four clean sheets in a row, scoring 10 combined goals in the process, before dropping their finale to Chaos Esports Club, 3-2. eUnited whipped Rogue (as was mentioned above) but has not played well since.
- Prediction: Charlotte Phoenix for the win
- Losers’ Round 1 (5:00 pm ET)
- Winners’ Finals (6:00 pm ET)
- Losers’ Finals (7:00 pm ET)
OCE (Oceanic League) Promotion Playoffs
Saturday, April 11
Ground Zero Gaming vs Cringe Society (8:00 pm ET)
Ground Zero Gaming comes in having finished a 5-2 season and holding the top seed going into the promotion playoffs. They only lost to Team Esper and Renegades. Their head-to-head matchup against Cringe Society ended up in a 3-2 win for Ground Zero.
Cringe Society finished their season with a 4-3 record, losing to the top two seeds, Ground Zero Gaming and Mind Freak. They also took an ugly upset loss against Overt. Cringe Society is the big underdog here, but they bring value with such players as Drippay and Torsos offering a lot of potential. This game went down to the wire in the regular season, and given that Ground Zero Gaming lost to two teams down the standings in the regular season, I like Cringe Society for the upset.
- Prediction: Cringe Society for the upset win
Mindfreak vs FURY (9:30 pm ET)
Both of these teams posted 5-2 records in the regular season, finishing with the second and third seeds coming into the promotion playoffs. While their season records were even, their head-to-head match was not particularly competitive, as Mindfreak rolled to an easy 3-0 win. Can FURY get revenge? Both of these teams only took losses against playoff squads, so this should go right down to the wire.
- Prediction: Mindfreak for the win
- Losers’ Round 1 (11:00 pm ET)
- Winners’ Finals (Saturday, April 18, time TBA)
- Losers’ Finals (Saturday, April 18, time TBA)
