This could’ve gone so differently
Season 5 of RLCS ended on the highest possible note. The two most dominant sqauds — Team Dignitas and NRG — faced off in the Grand Finals. It’s a double elimination tournament, and Dignitas was technically the underdog since it had already lost one series earlier in the weekend (which, not so coincidentally, was to NRG). But Dignitas won the first best-of-seven match in the Grand Finals to force a bracket reset. It all came down to one last series.
It went to a seventh winner-take-all game. Dignitas scored the go-ahead goal with four seconds left. Off the ensuing kickoff, NRG managed to keep the ball alive for what felt like an eternity (a Rocket League game doesn’t end until the ball hits the floor). Everything little break went perfectly right for NRG. Then Jstn scored the goal of a lifetime to force overtime.
Drama. An insane amount of drama. Shoutcaster Shogun, overcome by the moment, just screamed “THIS! IS! ROCKET LEAGUE!” It’s the stuff of legends.
Anyone who cares even a little bit about competitive Rocket League has seen this clip. YouTuber SunlessKhan just released a video that breaks down every single component of this play. It’s well worth a watch. It provides some context before analyzing all the teensy tiny calculations that made this possible. There are so many variables that could’ve led to Dignitas simply killing the ball and winning straight away. But then we wouldn’t be here talking about one of the best moments in esports history.
Do yourself a favor and watch this. It’s stats porn to a fine degree, even if it looked like a work of art when it happened live.
