esports
Rocket League's World Championship MVP reflects on his team's stunning victory, his changing role on the team, and whether they're poised to repeat in Season 7.
Cloud9 have been one of the most consistent and accomplished teams in pro Rocket League since the organisation entered in July 2017, but the team found itself in what seemed to be an impossible situation at November's Season 6 RLCS World Championship. The trio fought hard through the losers' bracket, but would have to face back-to-back champs Dignitas and beat them in two series – plus no North American team had won the RLCS since Season 1.
Well, Kyle ‘Torment’ Storer, Mariano ‘SquishyMuffinz’ Arruda, and Jesus ‘Gimmick’ Parra quickly reminded us to keep faith in the underdogs – and that with enough skill and precision, the dominant can be dominated. And that's exactly what happened, as Cloud9 ran rampant over Dignitas, forcing the bracket reset and then winning the second straight series via aggressive play and dazzling aerial shots, securing the RLCS World Championship and $200,000 in the process.
After a busy offseason full of major tournaments and wild roster moves, the RLCS is finally back – and Cloud9 are ready to defend their hard-fought title. With Season 7 just days away, we caught up with Torment to talk about his role in winning it all, Cloud9's evolving play style, and the prospects of another championship run.
Yes, that actually happened
Asked to reflect on the championship win, Torment's initial response is pretty close to the one he gave us mere minutes after the victory. "It's pretty crazy, for sure. That's pretty much how I start every answer to that," he admits. "It's just crazy and was definitely unexpected. It took a while to set in. A month or two later I was like, 'Wow, that actually happened.'"
With the win has come more exposure and perhaps a bit of pressure, and it did secure the 18-year-old pro a fair chunk of change. However, Torment doesn't feel like his philosophy towards the game has changed at all. He likened the victory to the team's first major win as The Muffin Men back at DreamHack Atlanta in 2017, just days before signing with Cloud9 – but this was on a much, much larger scale. And it came via Torment's best showing to date.
"That was definitely the best I've ever felt playing personally," he recalls. "Before that, DreamHack Atlanta was my peak performance, and then that felt very similar. I had one of those days where everything was working out for me and I felt really good. Whatever I did to do that, I've gotta keep trying to do that. I think I just had a really good day. That's all it came down to, honestly."
He can't figure out exactly what elevated his performance that day, he admits, but suggested that forward momentum on the back half of the weekend was pushing both him and the team towards the victory.
"I remember I was warming up that day, and we had a meet and greet before and I just felt good. Then we went to scrims, and everything just felt good," he said. "We squeezed through our FlipSid3 series and the NRG series the day before, as well, and after that it felt like we were unstoppable at that point. It was really weird, and it's hard to describe."
Shifting styles
Torment has been a vital part of the Cloud9 union from the start, but his role had originally been very different from that of his team-mates. Squishy and Gimmick are both known as prolific scorers capable of delivering jaw-dropping shots at nearly any moment. On the other hand, Torment has been widely considered the third man – the player who takes a more defensive posture and doesn't come upfield as much. Squishy referred to Torment as the team's "rock" in our interview with him before Season 6, and said his role was necessary for a line-up like theirs to have success.
However, in that same interview, Squishy suggested that things were changing. That kind of approach had made Cloud9 one of NA's top teams, but it wasn't enough to get them an RLCS championship at that point. Of course, this was also during Dignitas' overpowering reign. So Cloud9 took a page out of their European rival's book, attempting to make all three players feel like equal, all-around players on the pitch. It proved to be a crucial and calculated tweak.
"We definitely talked about it," says Torment. "Seasons 4 and 5, everyone said I was the third man – all I did, was like, defense. But I definitely started moving up more and getting more involved. At least at the World Championship, I scored a lot more than I usually do. As long as I'm having a good shooting day – which could be hit or miss for me – usually I can move up more and be more involved."
He admits that it was an awkward shift at first, especially given that he's been playing with the same team-mates for two years now (and with Squishy even longer), but that he ultimately adapted to it. And we saw it in full force at the World Championship, as Torment took over the pitch and scored much more frequently, stepping up when his team needed him the most. It was enough to earn him MVP honours.
"We played a play style that they weren't really used to," he says about beating Dignitas. "We noticed back then that a lot of teams kind of just let Dignitas do their thing, so our goal was to basically counter that as best we can. I think it worked well. We just got in their face. Obviously, there were a lot of bumps. It wasn't me – it was mostly Gimmick and Squishy, who were absolute madmen that day doing that stuff, and I was kind of finishing up goals. It was really successful for us."
Ready to win again
The offseason saw a return to Europe's winning ways, with We Dem Girlz (now Team SoloMid) winning ELEAGUE in December, FlipSid3 Tactics claiming WSOE 4 in January, and the updated Dignitas roster winning DreamHack Leipzig last month.
However, Cloud9 weren't far behind during those tournaments. They lost to We Dem Girlz in the ELEAGUE grand finals ("We were hoping to win, but second is nothing to complain about," says Torment), finished 3rd-4th at WSOE ("Which is what we usually get"), and finished 5th-8th at DreamHack – the team's lowest LAN placement to date. "We're not gonna dwell on it," he said on that last performance.
With RLCS Season 7 league play fast approaching on April 6, Cloud9 have been back to the grind. Torment says he's been tweaking his own game a bit, as pros typically do to stay in top form, and that they've been looking more cohesive as a unit lately as well. "Scrims have been pretty good," he said. "I think we're getting more consistent with our play style, and hopefully in a few weeks when the season starts, we'll be really consistent."
The usual offseason roster shuffle was a little nuttier than usual in North America this time around, with two enormous moves sending shockwaves through the scene. First, G2 Esports dropped captain and RLCS Season 1 champion Cameron ‘Kronovi’ Bills (now with Rogue) in favour of Evil Geniuses player, Reed ‘Chicago' Wilen. And then Evil Geniuses made an even wilder move by importing Oceania's top Rocket League player, former Chiefs star Matthew ‘Drippay’ Den-Kaat.
"I was a little surprised," Torment admits. "The EG one was insane, for sure. I knew it was happening, but I was like, 'Wow, it's actually going to happen.' G2, I'm not exactly surprised. Something was bound to happen after two bad [World Championship] performances, but I think they're probably in a pretty good place now."
According to Torment, NRG's unchanged roster has been North America's best team in the offseason, and the new G2 ought to still be a strong threat. In other words, NA's Top 3 is essentially unchanged in his view. "It's kind of the same as last year," he says. "Those are the two teams we look out for the most."
Dignitas ruled with an iron bumper for some time, but as tournament results over the past several months have shown, any one of the top handful of teams today can pull out a major win if they're on point when it matters most. Cloud9 made it happen at the last RLCS World Championship, and they could be poised to repeat this season. They'll just have to be ready to turn it up again.
"Yeah, for sure," Torment says about the prospect of winning another RLCS championship. "We just need to show up on the day. Everybody says that, but it's so true. It's just whoever shows up and plays well that day."
