G2 Stride on freeing Daniel, Falcons nerves, and dodging EU at RLCS London
For the first time in over eight years of competitive Rocket League, an all-American roster has won a Major title, as G2 Stride's trio of Massimo "Atomic" Franceschi, Daniel "Daniel" Piecenski, and Landon "BeastMode" Konerman have been crowned as champions of the RLCS 2024 London Major.
Following their championship win, GGRecon spoke with G2 Stride as they opened up on how they capitalised on Team Falcons' nerves by using that Sunday experience, dodging all European rosters, and how BeastMode and Daniel's duo alleviated a lot of individual pressure.
G2 Stride at home on the Championship Sunday stage
Click to enlargeEarlier in the tournament, Team Falcons beat G2 Stride convincingly, but this roster has been there and won events (separately), and it was that experience being established winners that helped them overcome their counterparts in the final.
"I'd say [sunday experience] mattered, especially for the twins. I don't want to say they played poorly, or that you could see it in them, but they weren't at the same level - their peak level - that we saw in the semis," said G2 Head Coach Matthew "Satthew" Ackermann.
BeastMode agreed. "You could tell the difference from when we scrimmed them in the warm-up," he said. "Compared to the swiss stage and scrimming them on Sunday, you could tell that they were playing differently. It's just a different feeling playing in front of that crowd."
G2 Stride on the magic balancing formula
Click to enlargeHistorically, the best Rocket League teams in the world had a solid pivot and two players who popped off when needed to add that individual flair. Think prime C9. Even Falcons had that with the twins, although trk511 is one of the more attacking centrepieces in the world.
For G2 Stride, this roster has finally unlocked Daniel and Beastmode, having embedded them together and alleviating any stress on the individual to provide, sharing that burden.
"On some of my rosters, I probably was the best player and had to create a lot, but my teammates are crazy, they can create a lot on the ball and do anything. It's definitely a lot easier and less stressful," said Daniel.
Again, BeastMode agreed. "If we're five goals down, I still feel confident about us. I've never felt like that about the game," he added.
G2 Stride confident that dodging EU didn't matter
Click to enlargeFor the first time in Rocket League history, a European team failed to reach a Major final, as Falcons represented MENA for the second time in a London Grand Final and G2's all-American team came out on top.
However, G2 didn't face a single EU team, despite months of dominance from the French in RLCS. Instead, Team Falcons had the gauntlet run and knocked them all out.
But this wouldn't have mattered to G2 Stride, who instead said that the only team that might have put up a better fight would have been Gentle Mates.
"I honestly think if we played Gentle Mates, it would have been harder," BeastMode said,
"They have that experience on Sunday," added Satthew. "But the other teams we'd have been confident against."
G2 Esports now go into towards the Esports World Cup in Riyadh, where BeastMode and Daniel won Riyadh Master last year, and onwards to home turf in Texas for the World Championships, as they look to be the second consecutive team to win the final Major and Worlds back-to-back.
