With RLCS 2021-22 well and truly on the move, we've seen a few Bracket Resets.
Rocket League Esports can be a little bit confusing. There are tons of teams with tons of players and tons of matches. It is never as simple as "oh hey, let's play a game". Instead, it involved beating a certain number of "best of" games, facing up against other teams of the same skill level, and all sorts of other bollocks. Now that we have just witnessed the RLCS Spring Major, it's time to explain a few of these complicated systems. The first one we're going to discuss? The classic "Bracket Reset".
After a ton of excellent games, many are asking about Bracket Resets. "Marco, what the hell does this mean?" I hear them asking, as they roll their eyes back in exasperation. "Why does it have to be so complicated? Why can't I understand this?" Well, folks, the first lesson you need to learn is that – despite Rocket League being a rather simple, but good Esport – the RLCS works in a rather complicated way.
You also need to understand that RLCS 2021-22 is a rather late-game tournament. By this, I mean that there have been many that predate it. This is the eleventh Rocket League Championship Series, a number that will truly stun you, but also explains why nothing is ever explained. After all, it's been around for ages, so it makes sense that basic knowledge of the tournament is expected from viewers. Brackets are complicated, though, so it's time to break down this mechanic for you...
Bracket Reset Meaning in Rocket League
Bracket Resets apply to double-elimination tournaments. They are applied when a team who hasn't lost a match loses the grand final. Due to the fact that there is both an upper and a lower bracket, the winner of the higher bracket will initiate a Bracket Reset if they lost the finals. In other words, if the lower bracket team wins the series, this will then initiate a Bracket Reset.
A Bracket Reset then requires, in Rocket League, another Best-of-Seven game to be played, so as to determine the winner of the overall championship. This Reddit User explained it very well:
The reality is that, as u/Zizos noted in the above Reddit post, everyone is allowed to lose at least once and still have a chance to bring home the overall Championships. This makes the RLCS fairer, as it means that players will not be out of the competition simply based on a few bad matches. It creates better competition, and makes things a lot more entertaining and fun for the viewers.
Ultimately, this is one that is quite difficult to explain. For one final attempt: consider if you lost a set of best-of-sevens when you were playing the grand final, but you were previously undefeated. Your opponent had lost a few matches in the past, so it hardly seems fair that this little piece of bad-performance would cost you the competition. So, RLCS rules allow you to play another best-of-seven to establish the true winner of the competition. Why? Well, to make the game fairer.