RLCS Winter Split – Apollo Open kicks off the regional events

The Rocket League Championship Series 2021-22’s next stop is the Apollo Open for the Winter season. Apollo Open kicks off the European regional with excitement, and teams prepare to challenge Fall champions Team BDS for the trophy.

Let’s break down the event and see how everything is set up.

RLCS 2021-22 Apollo Open Teams and Tournament Format

Besides Team BDS, it would be rude to not mention the top candidates from the last major, which are SMPR Esports (3^rd), Dignitas, and Endpoint CeX (5^th-8^th). Of course, we have the typical household names in the EU scene, such as Team Vitality, Evil Geniuses, Karmine Corp, and Misfits Gaming. Not to exclude the closed qualifier winners, namely Williams Resolve, TEA, 00 Nation DNB, Rix.GG, Team Singularity, Team Queso, Natus Vincere, and Kuxir’s Minions.

The Group Stage is distributed into four groups of four teams. Each match will be of round-robin best-of-five series. Only the top three seeds from every group proceed to the Playoffs. The difference is the first-place is entitled to a Winners’ Bracket slot, while the second and third teams play in the Losers’ Bracket. Do note that this is the standard format for the regional league, which we had a first glance at North America, Oceania, and MENA regionals in action last week.

The Winter Split Apollo Open – Group Distribution

Apollo Open Favorites and noteworthy teams

Group A plausibly has the toughest opponents among the others, since Team BDS is here. This also means it would be the most exhilarating group to watch if you’re an Evan “M0nkey M00n” Rogez fan. The young prodigy is amongst the best Rocket League players, and delivered some incredible Rocket League goals in his career. However, Monkey Moon’s positive results for coronavirus is a cause for concern for his health and Team BDS’s performance in general. Otherwise, we can still expect a one-sided thrashing as Team BDS outclasses every opponent here.

A more even group would be Group D, where Endpoint CeX and Carmine Corp are competing. While Endpoint CeX is certainly the prominent team, Karmine Corp isn’t too shabby themselves for a new contender that is. Of course, there’s Team Vitality, which is looking to redeem themselves after a terrible run, last major. In Team Vitality’s defense, the Swiss Stage match-ups back in Fall Split Major were unlucky that they faced FaZe Clan, Endpoint CeX, and The General NRG in three consecutive matches. At least Vitality isn’t shying away from another attempt in the Apollo Open.

Over at Group C, SMPR Esports remains the undisputed favorites for good reasons. Falling just short behind Team BDS, SMPR Esports is second to none in this group. Hence, victory is very much assured, but Evil Geniuses’ consistent growth could potentially give SMPR a run for their money. EG, for one, was just one ranking short of qualifying for Fall Major. Hence, fans never really got to see first-hand what EG can put on the table yet.

Last but not least, Team Dignitas resides in Group B, where perhaps Misfits Gaming could pose a glimpse of underdog energy. That is until we realized a formidable player has returned into the EU scene, Team Queso. Once famed as a staple in EU regionals, Team Queso’s quickly fell out of relevancy and was forgotten. However, with persistence on their backs, Team Queso hopes to bring back Queso’s glory days. Team Queso’s upcoming goal would be to regain their spot in the Apollo Open major.

RLCS 2021-22 Apollo Open Betting

With over twenty-four matches scheduled for day 1 of the RLCS 2021-22 Winter Apollo Open EU Regional Event. If we aren’t any wiser, that just means there’s quite a variety of matches for all your Rocket League betting needs.

Of course, consider checking out the curated esports bookmakers featuring exclusive odds for Apollo Open matches.

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