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Day two of the Gfinity Elite Series took place this past Sunday, with the six city-based esports teams duking it out in everyone’s favourite soccer-with-cars game – Rocket League.
An earlier start time of 10am (AEST) didn’t deter the spectators, with plenty of esports fans filing in to the Hoyts Gfinity Arena in Moore Park for three best-of-five Rocket League series.
Like Saturday, it was the Brisbane Deceptors tackling Melbourne Order first up, with strong starts followed by stout late defending helping the Melbourne side claim tight victories in games one and two.
Brisbane were able to get back in the series with a 3-0 game three win, but the Order took game four to take the series out by a scoreline of 3-1.
It was a gallant effort from the newly-created Brisbane side but they just lacked the polish you see from a side who’ve been playing together for longer – like Melbourne.
That said, they have every right to be very proud of taking one game off a heavily-favoured opponent. Coupled with their tight loss to Order in CS:GO on Saturday – where they actually led 10-5 at half-time – there’s a lot to be optimistic about with the Deceptors.
As far as the Order are concerned, they got the job done, and will look to do the same again next week against their cross-town rivals.
After stunning everyone in the first Sydney Derby the day prior, the next game saw the Sydney Roar were looking to stun the highly-fancied Sydney Chiefs once more in the round ball game.
The Chiefs had the backing of a whopping 78% of the Twitter vote, and they made good on that promise early with decisive wins in the first two rounds.
But the Roar weren’t done, getting themselves back into the series after a grueling game three win that came more than a minute into overtime, before another long period of extra play saw them level the series at 2-2.
JusticeRobo, who had both overtime winners for the underdogs, had a chance to level the scores in the dying seconds of game five, but his shot was met with a beautiful save that saw the Chiefs hang on and claim a thrilling 3-2 victory.
Ominously for the rest of the competition, it was actually a second-string line-up fielded by the Chiefs, with their star players currently overseas competing in the Rocket League Championship Series.
With Jake and Drippay still to return, this tournament looks to be the current Oceanic champions’ to lose.
But, like Brisbane, the Roar will take great heart out of their performance. It would have been very easy for them roll over after two quick losses, but they found a gear most pundits didn’t think they’d have and fought back strongly.
Watch the Gfinity Elite Series LIVE on The Roar.
The Rocket League action then came to a close with a highly-anticipated matchup between Perth Ground Zero and Melbourne Avant.
Perth captain SimplyCyrix added some spice to the encounter before the game, noting the match was starting close to lunchtime and saying “I’m sure everyone’s really hungry, so I hope we can get a quick 3-0 [series win]”.
But the Ground Zero skipper was able to walk the walk too, spearheading his team to a crushing 4-0 win in game one and a tense 1-0 win in game two.
Melbourne got the first goal on the board in a do-or-die game three, but Perth put their foot on the pedal after that – slamming through seven unanswered goals to claim a devastating 3-0 series sweep.
With Perth using Legacy’s Rocket League roster for the tournament, Adelaide Crows fans would be pleased to know their side did actually get a win on Sunday – it was just the esports team they own.
After a poor showing at the Oceanic finals in April, this was just the bounce back this group of players needed. They may not yet have the pedigree of some of their rivals in the Chiefs and Order, but their week one performance was clearly the strongest.
Melbourne Avant will be keen to burn the tapes of this one and hope they can put together a stronger performance against the Order in a week’s time.
Note: Gfinity Australia is a joint venture with HT&E Events. The Roar is published by Conversant Media, which is owned by HT&E.