The best Rocket League team in the world has clinched its next title in Riyadh. At the Esports World Cup, the French team dealt the local heroes a bitter blow.
When legendary British rock band The Who released their song “Behind Blue Eyes” in 1971, there was no talk of Rocket League or esports. Not even Pong had been released at that point.
What does that have to do with electronic car soccer and the Esports World Cup (EWC)? Not much, apparently. However, the balance of power in Rocket League eSports these days, weeks and months can be summed up well in reference to the global hit: “Behind blue walls,” or more precisely behind the “Blue Wall,” is what Karmine Corp’s competitors say at virtually every opportunity.
In Riyadh, the French confirmed this admittedly somewhat contrived assessment and won their second major title of the season after the Masters in Birmingham: The best-of-seven final against Geekay Esports ended 4-1, with the favorites narrowly avoiding a sweep in the fourth match of the series.
BDS successor thanks to BDS newcomer
Samy Hajji, a pro who is no stranger to EWC triumphs, was named MVP of the champions. He had already lifted the trophy in 2024, back then after a remarkable run in the Team BDS jersey.
Another parallel between 2024 and 2025 was that ‘dralii’ tripped up the local heroes and co-favorites Team Falcons. Last year, he and his teammates had prevailed in the final, but this year, he and his new colleagues knocked the frenetically celebrated Falcons out in the semifinals.
They had to settle for the third-place match, but won the small final against Vitality and collected important points for the overall EWC standings.
Only NRG stumbles against KCorp
The dominator of the Rocket League scene only really broke a sweat once in Riyadh. In the upper bracket final of Group A, after two initial victories against the Americans from NRG, a little carelessness crept in. The favorites were surprisingly vulnerable in defense (1:5) and even allowed their opponents to equalize in the fourth game in overtime.
However, NRG Karmine Corp was unable to bring them down. In the fifth and final match of the series, the eventual champions kept their cool and won in overtime. The Blue Wall remained impenetrable, KCorp got away with a black eye – and subsequently stuck to another The Who hit: “Won’t get fooled again”.
