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GarrettG on NRG's 7-0 Season and RLCS Resurgence
After a rough season and retooling, the three-time NA Rocket League champs are truly reenergized.
Last season saw NRG's Rocket League squad in a very unfamiliar position. The North American team, known as Kings of Urban until NRG picked them up during season two, had won the region the first three seasons of the Rocket League Championship Series. They finished third at the season three World Championship and took the X Games Invitational last summer, so they seemed poised to continue their success into RLCS season four. Instead, they struggled.
Knocked out in a surprising upset at November's finals, NRG made a huge offseason roster move, parting ways with longtime member Jacob "Jacob" McDowell. Out went the veteran and in came a rookie — Justin "JSTN" Morales, whose explosive offense boosted Rival Series team Out of Style last season. The risk paid off: NRG just completed the first undefeated regular season in RLCS history, going 7-0 and securing a spot at the World Championship.
NRG is back on top in NA, and star player Garrett "GarrettG" Gordon has likewise hit a new peak, shifting into a more offensive role and landing in prime position for MVP honors. Ahead of this weekend's regional championship, we spoke with GarrettG about last season's lows, the tough offseason swap, and NRG's startling bounce-back performance.
Losing a step
GarrettG was an offensive force in Rocket League (with Orbit/Exodus) before he joined NRG, but the team's best-laid plans shifted once he was onboard. "When I came onto NRG in season three, I was meant to be an offensive presence with Jacob," he explained. "From the start when we had struggles, it didn't really work out, so I had to move back to defense … which is not what I had planned."
Even so, it worked out well in season three, as NRG won North America for the third straight season and finished third at Worlds. Faced with criticism of wilting at LAN events, NRG answered critics by winning the X Games Invitational, although they shook up their strategy that week. But things were changing in the region and across pro Rocket League on the whole. As the meta evolved, team play and precise rotations took on a larger role, new mechanics emerged, and the speed of play continued to increase. As teams like Cloud9 and G2 thrived in North America, NRG began to falter.
NRG won the X Games Invitational in July
© Andrew Hayward
"Last season was really weird. All of a sudden, all of these new mechanics came out at once. It was really overwhelming. I remember scrimming Cloud9 last season, and it felt like there was no way we were ever going to match their pace at all," GarrettG said. "I think once all of those new mechanics came out, the older players — it took them a while to catch up. As time goes on, you see people like [FlipSid3 Tactics'] Kuxir97 catching up as well and getting back to his normal form. I think there were just so many new players with new ideas that they kind of caught everyone off-guard."
Amidst NRG's struggles, GarrettG became uncomfortable in his third-man role. He began to feel the weight of the team's decline, and while a 4-3 record certainly wasn't bad, he knew that they had fallen out of the upper echelon of teams. "It was truly one of the first times that I didn't feel like I was on the top — not that I wasn't on a top team, but we weren't one of the best," he said. "It wasn't a great time."
Jacob, GarrettG, and Fireburner (from left) at the S4 RLCS finals
© Psyonix
GarrettG usually has a feeling about how well his team will perform going into a LAN tournament, and he knew they weren't in for great run at the last World Championship. He conceded that he was distracted, and that his mind was elsewhere. He figured a seventh/eighth place finish was likely, maybe fifth/sixth; instead they fell to eventual runner-up Method in the first round and then were eliminated by Oceania's Chiefs in the biggest upset of the weekend. NRG finished in ninth/10th — last place, shared with Pale Horse Esports. With that finish, they were also left out of The ELEAGUE Cup.
Given how he has focused his life around his Rocket League career, including doing school online, the 17-year-old said the toll of NRG's downturn was significant. "When season four started and we were losing, it felt like maybe it was time for me to go back to school or something — like maybe I was washed up and falling off completely," GarrettG said. "I felt like I went from a player who could contend for best in NA at one point to being not even barely Top 5 at all. It was a rough end of the year; I'll just say that."
Making the move
Even amidst the struggles, team morale remained positive between GarrettG, Jacob and captain Jayson "Fireburner" Nunez. Still, there was a sense that something needed to change. And for GarrettG, the team's familiar routine began to feel like a rut that they couldn't work through.
Jacob is one of the most exciting players to watch in all of pro Rocket League, as he's known to knock in absolutely absurd-looking shots with regularity. As the balance shifted more toward team play and away from solo spectacle, however, NRG's inconsistencies became more obvious. According to RLCS caster and analyst Adam "Lawler" Thornton, "Jacob had to learn to adapt his play style of extra touches, because it quite simply gave other teams more time to react. From the looks of it, this created tension with his inability to rotate to defense and allowed teams like Cloud9 to rise to the top."
In GarrettG's view, the shifting meta gradually made them less compatible as teammates, especially considering the ever-increasing competition. "Jacob's a really good player, but he needs the right players around him," GarrettG said. "If I were more comfortable on defense all the time, then Jacob would shine a lot more. He's just one of those players who needs the right teammates around him, and I felt like as time went on, we started to not be those teammates for him."
"With how the game was moving to more team play, I felt like we needed somebody who matched our play styles better," he continued. "Trust me, we tried that whole season to fix it. We wanted to stay together. I don't like making roster moves, really. I like to stay with the same people — I feel like that's the best way to go. But at a certain point, I feel like there's a time where you need to realize that, 'OK, we need to make a change.'"
NRG's past lineup in happier times, at the S3 finals
© Psyonix
Parting with a longtime teammate might seem like a ripe scenario for drama, but GarrettG suggested that the three remain good friends. "Even when we talked to Jacob about making a change, he was really understanding. It wasn't a big thing like people make it out to be," he said. "We're all professional and we understand that this a competition — it's not just about friendships. We're trying to win out here, and he understood that."
JSTN time
Jacob departed in early January and eventually signed with Rogue, who just finished fifth in NA league play and will fight for a LAN spot this weekend. Soon thereafter, NRG announced the signing of JSTN, who made a huge splash last season with Out of Style in the lower-tier Rival Series. Out of Style won the promotional tournament, so he would've been playing in the RLCS this season either way, but he opted to go with NRG instead.
NRG almost went in another direction; GarrettG acknowledged that they first tried to sign a different player (which JSTN was aware of), but that it didn't pan out. He was concerned that there might be a learning curve with an RLCS rookie playing at the highest level for the first time, but ultimately it turned out to be a positive: GarrettG is happy to not only have a new team dynamic, but also to be playing with an energetic newcomer.
"This is my fifth season, and especially with three veterans, it started to feel like a routine," he said of last season's grind. "Everything didn't feel new — it didn't feel fun. I feel like that's one of the reasons that I struggled in season four, because I literally had no pressure. I play way better with pressure, and season four [Worlds] felt like another LAN for me. I have no idea why. With the rookie, when you hear his voice literally shaking in the first couple matches, it just makes it a lot more fun for me."
If there were early jitters, then NRG might be thankful that they faced what were ultimately the season's three weakest teams right off the bat. By the time they battled giants like G2 and Cloud9, they were firing on all cylinders: NRG swept G2, the ELEAGUE Cup champions and this season's second-place NA team during league play, and later took out Cloud9 3-1.
With the talkative Jacob gone, GarrettG said he's had to take more of the lead on comms during matches. But while they expected to have to do more hands-on work guiding JSTN through high-level play, including helping to improve his rotations and harness the full potential of his mechanics, GarrettG said they've been surprised with how much JSTN has adapted on his own.
"Before the season, I was actually really worried — because with a rookie, you have no idea what's going to happen. From the very first game, we were all shaky at first, to be honest with you," said GarrettG. "He's surprisingly a really solid player, and he's playing a lot smarter than I thought he would. I thought he'd be another player who, like, wants to hit insane shots and go for all these insane plays, but he's a really smart player. I couldn't be happier with picking him up."
GarrettG takes the lead
Bringing in JSTN has transformed NRG's approach on the pitch. GarrettG, who found himself frustrated and eventually struggling as the third man in the rotation, is now up front alongside JSTN. As dual, dynamic strikers, they can pass each other shots and surprise opponents as a tandem of precise, powerful threats. Fireburner has taken more of the third-man role now, serving as an all-around threat with both defensive focus and serious offensive capability bringing up the rear.
It can be difficult to understand and really see the benefit of rotations when watching RLCS streams, but the proof is in the stats and the results: With that tweaked dynamic, GarrettG has been on fire. He led North America in goals (1.25), shots (3.64) and score (322.14) per game, all of which are regular season career highs for him. And while overall RLCS offense had trended down over the seasons before a season four uptick, GarrettG's numbers in all three categories set the highest peaks for any NA player since season one. He also scored nearly half of NRG's goals this season.
Lawler, who has followed GarrettG's performance across all five RLCS seasons, pointed out that his offensive numbers dipped in the first two seasons with NRG. GarrettG was fifth in NA in both goals and shots per game in season one, and then second in both categories in season two. But he fell to eighth in goals per game in season three, and then 10th last season when NRG was struggling across the board. With JSTN onboard and GarrettG moving back up to a striker role, he's pouring in shots and goals like never before. Even so, Lawler calls NRG's success this season "a true team effort."
"Every player on NRG fits a specific piece of the puzzle," Lawler explained. "Garrett and JSTN set each other up on offense, while Fireburner has gone back to that third-man position — extremely solid to shut down clears in the midfield, but also not afraid to move up and put in a goal. It's not flashy or maybe as exciting as others, but NRG going 7-0 proves how effective it can be."
"Garrett is a player who always wants to be the best, and you see it in his drive," Lawler continued. "The guy is damn passionate and losing isn't an option. His performance this season isn't surprising; many of us consider him the best player in North America."
Ready for Worlds?
Finishing first in NA league play means NRG has already locked down a place in the World Championship, the date and location of which remain a mystery as of this writing. Not having to secure a LAN spot via this weekend's regional championship is "a really big relief," said GarrettG, as last season's experience was plenty nerve-wracking: "It was horrible. I don't want to bash the system or anything, but I can't stand one series determining if you make it."
And while top seeding and another North American title would be great, GarrettG isn't stressing out too much about regionals. "I'm looking forward to it. Regionals is weird, because you'll see teams get fourth seed and still do good at LAN," he said. "I'm not looking at it like the final piece, I guess; I'm just gonna play my best and see how we play. I'm not counting on trying to get No. 1 seed too hard or anything."
Looking ahead to Worlds, he acknowledged wanting to prove himself after last season's performance, but suggested that his play at January's DreamHack Leipzig — in which NRG placed third/fourth using Cloud9's Kyle "Torment" Storer as a stand-in for JSTN — showed that he can still shine in the LAN setting. As for JSTN, GarrettG admitted that first-time jitters may come into play with his new teammate.
"I think JSTN's going to be pretty nervous, but when you look at every single player who is mechanically talented, they've always played decently at LAN," said GarrettG. "I don't have any worries that JSTN is going to falter, and I feel like we have a good enough system that even if his mechanics aren't 100 percent, we're still a good team. We're gonna talk to him about things we do to help him be more comfortable, but I'm sure he's gonna be fine."
We'll have to wait and see whether NRG's record-setting online performance this season carries over to the World Championship, but as far as rebuilding and reenergizing have gone: so far, so good. "We had our little honeymoon period in scrims, but we never really fell off. Everything's clicked so far and we haven't had any problems," GarrettG said. "Obviously, it hasn't been a long time; we're not a really seasoned team together, but we're still figuring everything out."
And finally claiming his spot as NRG's lead offensive force has done wonders for GarrettG's own confidence — especially with that undefeated run — given how last season turned out. "It was pretty rough for me, my mental state, but I feel like I've come back to being one of the best," he said. "I'm not saying that to be cocky or anything, but I feel like I'm back in form: how I'm supposed to be."
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