Throwdown Esports’ OCE Open Series kicked off over the weekend, bringing together some of the top Rocket League teams in the Oceanic region. With the teams competing for a share of the tournament’s $15,000 AUD prize pool, competition was tough and quite a few surprising results came to fruition. Here’s a rundown on everything that happened over the weekend, with team rosters, league standings, and a few highlights included. 

Team Rosters

Chiefs OCE
Matthew “Drippay” Den-Kaat
Jake “Jake” Edwards
Daniel “Torsos” Parsons

Dark Sided
Phillip “Dumbo” Donachie
Jonathon “Express” Slade
Nathan “Shadey” Logan

JAM Gaming
Michael “Bango” Eason
“Decka”
“Walcott”

Love Decks
Adam “Addzey” Meechan
Cameron “CJM” McGrouther
Connor “Montyconnor” Montgomery

Retirement Home
Michael “Daze” Ignat
Callum “ellusive” E.
Alex “Kia” McDonald

Simple Physics
Matt “aoe emp” Milligan
Douglas “Daisu” Smith
“Lim”

Tainted Minds
Cameron “CJCJ” Johns
Tom “Julz” Jullienne
Cameron “Kamii” Ingram

We Win When We Can
Nathan “Cyrix” Baxter
“Delusion”
Christopher “Siki” Magee

League Play Day 1

Match 1: Love Decks def. Chiefs OCE
No doubt the biggest upset of the day saw Love Decks take out the Chiefs, and, funnily enough, it was the first match of the day! Love Decks’ CJM came up with some huge saves throughout the series, with the Chiefs being pushed back against their own board for long stretches. The Chiefs, looking a bit out of sorts, struggled to get a grip with the way Love Decks played and were made to pay — it didn’t stop the first two games going into a tightly-fought set of overtime, though!

Results:
Game 1: 2-1 to Chiefs (after Overtime)
Game 2: 3-2 to Love Decks (after Overtime)
Game 3: 2-1 to Love Decks

Match 2: Chiefs OCE def. Retirement Home
Retirement Home also put up a good show against the Chiefs, with an uncompromising play style that consistently bombarded the Chiefs’ goal. However, the quality of the RLCS regulars started to show overtime, with Chiefs’ Torsos scoring the majority of the goals over the series, in turn closing out a tightly fought two games. Retirement Home did pin the Chiefs back in Game 3, to claim a vital point for the ladder.

Results:
Game 1: 3-1 to Chiefs
Game 2: 3-2 to Chiefs
Game 3: 2-0 to Retirement Home

Match 3: We Win When We Can def. Retirement Home
After some promising showings in Gfinity’s Competitors Cup over the last four or so weeks, We Win When We Can really pushed Retirement Home all the way, culminating in one of the best series of the day. WWWWC took the first game out with ease, with Retirement Home only fully coming back into the series over the final two matches. Siki was the saviour for WWWWC in the end, scoring the overtime goal in Game 3 to take the series 2-1 against Retirement Home.

Results:
Game 1: 4-1 to We Win When We Can
Game 2: 2-1 to Retirement Home
Game 3: 1-0 to We Win When We Can (after Overtime)

Match 4: We Win When We Can def. Simple Physics
Without a doubt the biggest demolition job of the day, We Win When We Can absolutely dominated Simple Physics throughout the entire three-game series, with the latter only putting up a real fight in Game 3. WWWWC didn’t look like they were out of second gear for the most of the series, though that didn’t stop the fantastic passing from Siki, Delusion, and Cyrix carving Simple Physics open for some easy goals throughout. Game 3 was a different story, with Simple Physics putting up a notable fight though just falling short.

Results:
Game 1: 4-0 to We Win When We Can
Game 2: 4-0 to We Win When We Can
Game 3: 3-2 to We Win When We Can

Match 5: Tainted Minds def. Simple Physics
Tainted Minds showcased their skills and experience in this matchup right from the beginning, with TM’s KaMii playing particularly well over the series. Simple Physics put up a good fight in the second game, scoring some big goals and defending well, but it was Tainted Minds’ excellent communication, defensive work, and aerial positioning that pulled them through for a clean sweep of the series.

Results:
Game 1: 2-1 to Tainted Minds
Game 2: 4-2 to Tainted Minds
Game 3: 4-2 to Tainted Minds

Match 6: Dark Sided def. Tainted Minds
In what was dubbed as a colossal match up between two of the best teams in the Oceanic region, it was Dark Sided who ended up surprising everyone and clean sweeping Tainted Minds. All three matches were very close, though, with defence as much of an important part to both teams’ repertoire as attack. It was Dark Sided’s Express, however, who closed out Game 1 and Game 2 in overtime, in turn pulling his team to victory through some fantastic team build up play and execution. Dark Sided’s Shadey closed out a tense third game, too, to finish off a surprising sweep against Tainted Minds.

Results:
Game 1: 1-0 to Dark Sided (after Overtime)
Game 2: 2-1 to Dark Sided (after Overtime)
Game 3: 2-1 to Dark Sided

Match 7: Dark Sided def. JAM Gaming
A fascinating match up between Dark Sided and JAM Gaming saw the former take all three games, though the scores don’t necessarily reflect how tight and tense some of the play was throughout. Dark Sided’s Shadey, coming up against his old side, had no remorse against his old teammate in Bango and the new JAM roster, capping off Game 1 with a hat trick of goals. Aerial play was a feature in Game 2, though Dark Sided were the team to capitalise on player mistakes and run away with another clean sweep in the end, capping off the day top of the ladder.

Results:
Game 1: 3-0 to Dark Sided
Game 2: 2-0 to Dark Sided
Game 3: 4-2 to Dark Sided

League Play Day 2

Match 1: Tainted Minds def. Chiefs ESC
A cracking match put two of the best in the region up against one another. Both Tainted Minds and Chiefs had rough starts to the OCE Series, and it was the former who persevered and took the series in the end after some fantastic defensive displays and a couple of vital goals. Chiefs took out Game 3 in overtime with a slick goal from Torsos, though their position in the standings at the end of the weekend is something they’d be incredibly disappointed by.

Results:
Game 1: 2-0 to Tainted Minds
Game 2: 2-1 to Tainted Minds (after Overtime)
Game 3: 1-0 to Chiefs ESC (after Overtime)

Match 2: JAM Gaming def. Tainted Minds
Who’d have seen this coming? After an excellent display by Tainted Minds in Game 1 against Chiefs, JAM Gaming flexed their muscles and really put Tainted Minds to the sword with some clinical displays, courtesy of JAM’s Walcott. JAM Gaming’s Bango opened the scoring in Game 1, taking Tainted Minds by surprise and putting them against the board for the majority of the entire game. Tainted Minds, with 30 seconds left, produced an impressive recovery to bring the game back to 2-2 before the final buzzer, and took the win in overtime thanks to a beautiful goal from their talisman KaMii. Game 2 was much scrappier, as was Game 3, but in the end JAM took both games with some great attacking strikes to surprise Tainted Minds. An excellent series, this was.

Results:
Game 1: 3-2 to Tainted Minds (after Overtime)
Game 2: 4-3 to JAM Gaming (after Overtime)
Game 3: 3-2 to JAM Gaming

Match 3: JAM Gaming def. We Win When We Can
JAM Gaming took the momentum acquired from beating Tainted Minds and closed out the series against We Win When We Can after two games, thanks to some great team play and communication, alongside some vital saves made at critical moments throughout the series. Game 1 saw JAM Gaming capitalise on WWWWC’s small errors to take a huge 6-2 win, though it was Game 2 and 3 that saw WWWWC slowly grow back into the series and push the JAM roster a lot more. WWWWC’s Delusion scored a fantastic goal with no time left at the end of Game 3 to take a point from the series, though in the end JAM Gaming would no doubt be chuffed to have taken both series today, recovering from a huge loss on Day 1 to Dark Sided.

Results:
Game 1: 6-2 to JAM Gaming
Game 2: 2-1 to JAM Gaming (after Overtime)
Game 3: 2-1 to We Win When We Can

Match 4: We Win When We Can def. Love Decks
We Win When We Can played a great series against Love Decks after being beaten by JAM Gaming, pressing the ball extremely well and really taking it to Love Decks from the get-go. The first game was tight, with WWWWC’s Siki scoring to get the W after some neat aerial work and team build up play. Game 2 was a different story, with We Win When We Can absolutely trouncing Love Decks in the most one-sided game I’ve seen so far in the entire OCE Series, ending 7-1. Love Decks really gave Game 3 a go, with the team finally getting on song with each other, though they were narrowly beaten in overtime via a sneaky Delusion goal that closed out a WWWWC clean sweep.

Results:
Game 1: 1-0 to We Win When We Can
Game 2: 7-1 to We Win When We Can
Game 3: 3-2 to We Win When We Can (after Overtime)

Match 5: Retirement Home def. Love Decks
Love Decks couldn’t nab a series today, being taken out fairly easily by Retirement Home in a clean sweep. Retirement Home started strong in all three games, and it was through some fantastic combination play that they scored most of their goals, in turn derailing any chance for Love Decks to gain momentum. Game 3 was a cracker and much closer compared to the first two, though Retirement Home’s skills really came to the forefront, culminating in a 3-2 thriller to close out the series. Love Decks now find themselves in a bad position after the weekend’s action, with only two wins in nine games.

Results:
Game 1: 4-2 to Retirement Home
Game 2: 3-1 to Retirement Home
Game 3: 3-2 to Retirement Home

Match 6: Retirement Home def. Simple Physics
This match was fantastic from start to finish. Simple Physics, having come in after a crushing 3-0 defeat on Day 1, really gave it their all throughout. A few mistakes in Game 1 gave Retirement Home the chance to really capitalise, though it was in Games 2 and 3 that Simple Physics really showcased their skill and a willingness to not be taken down so easily. The last two games were some of the most back and forth Rocket League play over the first weekend of the OCE Series, with Simple Physics’ Daisu producing some incredible saves to deny Retirement Home a win. Game 3 saw the teams play through almost four minutes of overtime, where Retirement Home would eventually take it out thanks to some serious attacking pressure. A bummer for Simple Physics, but Retirement Home would be happy to take another win.

Results:
Game 1: 2-0 to Retirement Home
Game 2: 2-1 to Simple Physics
Game 3: 2-1 to Retirement Home (after Overtime)

Match 7: Simple Physics def. Dark Sided
In what was without a doubt the biggest upset of the day, Simple Physics made easy work of Dark Sided after two fantastic matches filled with flowing attacking moves, as well as ensuring they were always first to the ball. Simple Physics’ Lim was a star throughout the series, scoring a handful of crucial goals, with Daisu sticking back to make some vital saves to keep Dark Sided out. Dark Sided will be hugely disappointed with the result, though all credit goes to Simple Physics, who stuck to their guns and really pushed hard to get the series win.

Results:
Game 1: 5-1 to Simple Physics
Game 2: 2-1 to Simple Physics
Game 3: 4-2 to Dark Sided

League Standings

Position

Team

Sets Played

Game Count (W/L)

Set Count (W/L)

1st

We Win When We Can

4/7

9-3

3-1

2nd

Dark Sided

3/7

7-2

2-1

3rd

Retirement Home

4/7

7-5

2-2

4th

Tainted Minds

4/7

6-6

2-2

5th

JAM Gaming

3/7

4-5

2-1

6th

Chiefs ESC

3/7

4-5

1-2

7th

Simple Physics

4/7

3-9

1-3

8th

Love Decks

3/7

2-7

1-2

Final Thoughts

This weekend was an absolute cracker, with some huge upsets coming along the way. It’s worth noting that only the top six teams will make it through to the gauntlet final series to really compete for the upper echelon of that share of the $15,000 AUD prize pool, so teams are going to have really push next weekend to get a good position.

Of particular surprise is Chiefs ESC though, who are currently sitting at 6th. For a team that regulars RLCS, it’s been fascinating to see how teams have picked them apart. They have a week to prepare again though, and have some huge games coming up against some of the competition’s best sides, so I’m really excited to see what happens there.

If anything, this weekend has been a great showcase of the talent on display in the Oceanic region, and how it’s clearly continuing to grow in positive ways. It’s been really hard to predict winners, and I’m excited to see how Days 3 & 4 play out next weekend!