How Version1 rocketed up the NA RLCS ranks during winter split

For the last few years, NRG consistently have been the best North American Rocket League team – so when Version1 beat them in the third regional of the RLCS Winter Split, it certainly got people’s attention. But it was wins over FaZe Clan, another NA up-and-comer, and Team Queso, Europe’s best team in the winter split, a few weeks later in the group stage of the Winter Split Major that proved they have truly arrived.

Version1’s vocal leader, Robert "Comm" Kyser, who joined Version1 in 2020 shortly after the org got into Rocket League, told Nerd Street the team changed up its playstyle after the first regional. The goal was to perform better in matches, obviously, but especially at LAN events like the Winter Major.

“Going into the last regional, we had fully implemented our playstyle,” Comm said. “At that point, I think we were easily the best team in North America with how we were playing.”

Part of the reason things came together this split for Version1 was the addition of 16-year-old Landon "BeastMode" Konerman. BeastMode made a name for himself with the Kansas City Pioneers and Shopify Rebellion across Season X and the fall split of the 2021-22 season.

“I think BeastMode, his insane mechanical ability has opened up a lot for us, and I can play with a lot of confidence with him whenever he’s playing, so that allows me to open up how I’m playing so I can chase demos and push hard to the other team’s half,” Comm said.

According to Rocket League stats site Octane.gg, BeastMode had the highest overall rating of any player at the Winter Major with a 1.297, and the second-highest goals per game average at exactly 1.0.

It was BeastMode’s first LAN tournament ever, Comm proudly noted.

Comm, who’s only a couple years older than BeastMode, said he had previously competed in a smaller LAN, but nothing compared to the scale of the 6,000-seat YouTube Theater where the Winter Major’s playoffs were held.

“This was a much bigger stage,” he said. “Thousands of people here, it’s a huge setup, and it was definitely a lot more nerve-wracking.”

Photo credit: Version1

Where Comm really thrived, though, was the studio where the tournament’s group stage matches were played. There, it was just the teams, with no crowd in sight, which created an ideal environment to play some mind games.

“When it’s just you and the other team in the studio like that, especially against those teams, Queso being a really young inexperienced team, FaZe I already know, like we saw them and they looked super nervous,” Comm said. “So I’m gonna 100 percent gonna try to get inside these guys’ heads.”

In postmatch interviews, FaZe players indicated they preferred the stage environment where they couldn’t hear the trash talk, whereas Team Queso players just brushed off the chirping.

Ultimately, that mental edge in the studio might have made the difference for V1, as they lost both of their matches at the YouTube Theater, where the audience definitely seemed to be in favor of V1’s upper bracket semifinal opponent, Spacestation Gaming.

But none of that fazed Comm.

“Overall, the experience was great even though the crowd was against us, at least in the first series,” he said. “You feel it when the crowd’s against you for sure, but I think overall it was a great experience and I’m looking forward to the next few LANs.”

Outside the YouTube Theater, however, there were plenty of fans supporting V1. When Nerd Street caught up with Comm in the plaza right outside the theater, several fans approached him seeking autographs and photos.

Photo credit: Brian Bencomo

“The fan interactions have been the best part,” Comm said. “I got here today and you walk in and one person will recognize you. You stop and then suddenly there’s just a line of people … it’s so nice getting to meet all these people.”

Despite the organization being from Minnesota, Version1 organized a watch party at a local Southern California brewery during the first couple days of the tournament. Both were well-attended, with fans reacting very enthusiastically whenever V1 was onstream.

It’ll be interesting to see how V1’s fanbase-building activities IRL combined with their success in the server resonate in the months and years to come. V1 will have a chance to win over even more fans if they can qualify for another LAN in June, depending on how well they fare during the spring split. The next LAN will be in London.

With their success in the winter, they also have an inside track on potentially qualifying for the RLCS World Championship, too. That’s set to take place on LAN in Dallas in August.

Lead photo credit: Version1