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Why Scrub Killa's out to win it all at the RLCS World Championship
Renault Sport Team Vitality are Rocket League's hottest European squad right now. Can their young phenom lead them to international glory at his first World Championship?
Kyle 'Scrub Killa' Robertson has been a fixture of the competitive Rocket League scene since before the Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS) debuted and has consistently been one of the game's most popular streamers in that span. However, the Scot spent the first five RLCS seasons sitting on the sidelines, unable to compete on the game's largest stage.
Why? He simply wasn't old enough yet. The young phenom had the skills and notoriety since he was a pre-teen, but had to wait until he turned 15 to enter the league. That happened last season, as Scrub Killa joined Renault Sport Team Vitality, one of Europe's top teams. However, it wasn't the grand arrival on the pro scene that Scrub would've wanted, as the team finished with a losing record and missed out on the World Championship. Something was amiss.
Following a big off-season roster swap, however, Renault Sport Team Vitality slammed through RLCS league play this season and won the European regional championship – and Scrub was one of the league's top performers. Ahead of the Season 7 World Championship, we spoke with Scrub Killa about waiting for his chance to shine, overcoming last season's struggles and what it's like to finally be heading to Worlds as a competitor.
Waiting to shine
It's a testament to Scrub Killa's skill and personality that he remained one of the most popular Rocket League players even after five seasons without tearing up the turf on an RLCS pitch. Scrub had some notable success in that span, however, including winning both 1v1 The Twelve Titans tournaments put on by The League of Rockets as well as finishing second in last year's 2v2 NBC Universal Open: Rocket League tournament.
"It was always annoying that I had to watch from the sidelines, but I knew my time would come," Scrub admits. "I just had to wait. I just streamed all day instead and now that's paid off, of course. It was worth it."
Those aforementioned successes came in Rocket League's non-standard 1v1 and 2v2 modes, but before his RLCS debut, there was plenty of scepticism from Rocket League fans about whether he was a pro-calibre player in 3v3 – and whether he deserved to be signed to an RLCS team right off the bat. Even so, he immediately became the league's hottest free agent once he turned 15 and Renault Sport Team Vitality snapped him up for Season 6.
"[The scepticism] never really bothered me. It was more that I couldn't wait to prove people wrong and just show them that I can be good at 3v3," he says. "I've shown that and I showed it yet again. Proving people wrong is one of the best feelings."
Teamed with RLCS veterans Philip 'Paschy90' Paschmeyer and Victor 'Fairy Peak' Locquet, both World Championship grand finalists in the past, Scrub Killa was on a tweaked Renault Sport Team Vitality roster that seemed poised for success. But the team never found consistent footing during Season 6 last autumn and, while its 3-4 league record was good enough for fourth in Europe, they fell short during the regional championship.
"With Paschy, the problem was that we didn't have full trust in each other. We were often double-committing and triple-committing," says Scrub. "As soon as Kaydop joined, it was almost like this synergy was just there from the beginning. We just trusted each other more and had more fluid team plays. I think the main problem with Paschy was just double-commits and the communication errors. It just wasn't working."
"It was the biggest learning experience," Scrub adds about Season 6's struggles. "It just shows that I can't just come in and because I'm expected to make LAN that I can make LAN. I have to put in as much work as anyone else. It was definitely like a wake-up call."
Night and day
As Scrub Killa mentioned, this season's big shake-up has been the swap of the now-retired Paschy90 for Alexandre 'Kaydop' Courant, a two-time RLCS champion with Dignitas and widely considered the game's most consistent offensive threat. "He's been the glue that holds our team together," says Scrub. "I think he was the key ingredient that we needed to really pop off."
And pop off they have. Renault Sport Team Vitality were easily the most dominant team in Europe, finishing 6-1 with their only loss coming to Triple Trouble, and taking the European championship by clearing a path through PSG Esports and FC Barcelona.
Statistically, the three team-mates were Europe's most valuable performers, according to stats resource Octane.gg and the RLCS named Scrub Killa the Clutch Playmaker for leading Europe in assists and the runner-up for both Golden Striker and regular season MVP. If there were any doubts about Scrub's 3v3 abilities last season, they've been properly silenced this time around. "I feel like we all bring out the best in each other," says Scrub. "Kaydop joining brought out the best in me and helped me pop off. The fact that this was a new team just helped me play better."
Scrub Killa and Renault Sport Team Vitality at DreamHack
© DreamHack / Stephanie Lindgren
Renault Sport Team Vitality manager and coach Mike ‘Gregan’ Ellis says that Scrub took some real lessons from Season 6's struggles and that the consistency of Scrub's veteran team-mates allows him some flexibility to really show his stuff on the pitch.
"Scrub learnt a lot from competing in his first season of RLCS," Gregan asserts. "It's very different performing under pressure in fast-paced threes [compared] to ranked or ones as he did in the past. He plays more confidently and faster now. Knowing he has the solid foundation of Fairy Peak and Kaydop's rotation, he can take more risks and excel in his solo ability to control the ball and create goals where few players can."
Gregan adds that Scrub is given a bit of leeway to "cause mischief" and admits that "sometimes it goes wrong," but ultimately his aggressive but smart play has led to timely demolitions, saves, boost steals and epic solo goals. And as seen by his Clutch Playmaker honours, Scrub has also become a reliable assists wizard. Gregan – previously a caster and coach before joining as the team's manager two seasons back – has also played a part in the team's growth, taking on coaching duties this season to help the team learn from miscues… or even just be reassured of their successes.
"I have no doubt the guys would be very successful without this, but it just helps psychologically to know someone is there for you," says Gregan. "I can also see the bigger picture in a game where the players have to be focused on themselves. Most of the time my advice has been 'Keep doing what you are doing,' because the guys are doing fantastic."
Ready for Worlds
This weekend's DreamHack Dallas tournament will serve as something of a warm-up for June's RLCS World Championship in Newark, New Jersey, as the majority of the Worlds teams will be competing. It's a significant event on its own merits, but comparatively small in importance compared to Rocket League's own World Championship. Scrub has watched from the stands or the streams for six seasons, but now he'll be the one under the lights playing for a chance at Rocket League glory in a few short weeks.
"It feels amazing. It feels surreal, to be honest," he says about making the World Championship. "Just the fact that the first time I didn't get it was the worst feeling in the world. Now that we've finally managed to bounce back and make it this season, it's the best feeling."
Europe has been completely transformed since last season, with Dignitas struggling mightily after the loss of Kaydop and missing the World Championship. Renault Sport Team Vitality only lost to Triple Trouble this season, but Scrub Killa says that FC Barcelona and PSG Esports have also been two of the toughest rivals of late.
"Those are the two teams that can actually have close series against us quite consistently. It's just because Barça are so incredibly fast and PSG have a really unique play style that can be hard to counter," he says. "PSG don't have the individual talent that some teams have, maybe, but it's almost like a team unit. That's why they work so well. They just have full trust in each other, which is why they're so good, I think."
But they'll have to contend with far more than Europe's best at the RLCS World Championship and Scrub Killa points to North America's undefeated regional champions NRG and the reigning RLCS World Champions Cloud9 as the biggest international threats. Renault Sport Team Vitality took out NRG at DreamHack Leipzig in February, however, so maybe they're primed to repeat the feat at Worlds. In any case, Scrub feels good about his team's chances – and has his eyes on the prize.
"We're feeling really good. My mentality is that if we just play well, we should be able to beat anyone. As long as we keep playing well, I'm confident," says Scrub Killa. "I just want to win it all, of course. Nothing else."
