If you were not able to catch the Rocket League Draft for Season 13, we have you covered with some highlights! We’ll go through the first four leagues of the draft: Foundation, Academy, Champion and Master. A separate article will be recapping the Premier League exclusively. The first four leagues were three-round standard drafts inversely based on when teams were eliminated during the Season 12 playoffs with a lottery for non-playoff teams. Our Premier League has a new look this season with ten teams participating in a four-round snake draft, all based on a lottery. Before we get into the breakdown, let’s take a look at how you can aim to be a first round pick next season!
Forge Coaching
Looking to up your future draft stock? Worried more about a championship? No matter where you are on your road to Rocket League improvement, Forge Coaching has you covered! With a plethora of very experienced coaches to choose from, it is very easy to find what you are looking for. With a friendly staff and an easy to use discord server, it has never been easier to get tips from high level players with hundreds of hours of coaching. Even outside of a session, you can find easy and free help by just hanging around the server. As someone who has purchased multiple sessions, I have been very satisfied with my coaching and am always looking forward to going back. They make things really easy to understand whether you are a newer player or you have been hard stuck in your rank for a very long time. Currently there is a 20% discount when using code “MLE” at checkout, so what are you waiting for? Elevate your game and become the next MLE champion! https://discord.gg/ZEHcdHk
Foundation League
Foundation League (FL) is home to some of the biggest scrim grinders in all of Minor League Esports (MLE), and it is not particularly close. Since the scrim bot debuted back in February, there are only three people that have eclipsed 1,000 scrim games played, and Foundation League is home to all three of them. As MLE’s lowest level league, FL is usually a revolving door of up and coming talent who burst onto the scene and quickly rank up to the higher league. Like most drafts, FL is usually full of new surprises with some familiar faces sprinkled throughout.
Who’s new?
Sometimes all that’s needed are a couple of months to show us what you have. Sloppi, Nimrod623, Pakkteeya, Curlzz, and Dimensions have been active since joining the league over the summer and are being repaid by being taken in the first half of the draft. They had very high draft stock and will be looking to prove that they are here to stay and make an impact.
Who’s been here?
MLE is a community equally focused on friendships and improvement. For some, there is much to prove talent-wise, and for others, they have found a home at MLE and are looking to contribute in any way possible. With a combined more than 11.5 years here, Bachem, Ryzor, OneHandMedic, GreenGoFantastic, and Inebriated Yooper look to be foundational pieces for their team as they usher in a new generation of Rocket Leaguers looking to make an impact on the league.
Who to look out for?
Scrimming has been a great way to get on the radar of franchise staff, but is it possible within your first month here? Well, Alvin15k, Krabb_Lad, Prestondew00, BCFluffy, and Cujo have the answer for you. They were all drafted within just 30 days of joining the server, and they’ll be out to show that their franchises were smart in picking them up en route to a championship.
FL player to watch:
Sloppi joined the server just over three months ago with the message “Ready to grind for a championship” and the Wolves took that very seriously by using their #1 overall pick on him. He’s been on an absolute tear on the scrim bot since joining, with over 650 individual games played. Despite being more of a 3s player, Sloppi has put up big numbers in both game modes. Looking across his stats, there is a lot of dark green; the darker the green, the higher they are on the leaderboard in that specific stat. While still a 9 salary, Sloppi will be looking to make a big splash in Foundation League this season.
Academy League
If you haven’t seen much of the Academy League (AL) since Season 12, the draft might have surprised you. However, if you have paid attention to the copious amounts of scrimming that has been done over the past couple months, you might not be surprised by the majority of names on the draft board. Along with Foundation League, the Academy League is one of the top two most scrimmed leagues, and it appears that peoples’ hard work has paid off in the draft!
Who’s new?
We have some new talent appearing in the first ten picks of the draft. Kaliber spent some time as a Free Agent last season, and this will be their first full season in MLE on a team. Joining them as top ten picks are Lucy, Poisson, Kwalk, and FlyFyre, all who have just joined the league here in the last couple months. They will be looking to make big impacts during the regular season to prove they were worth their pick.
Who’s been here?
Many other first rounders were faces we have been happy to see for years now. TeaBoneJones, cozyboy, shnozz, AptFox, and Tomez have a combined 15+ years of service in MLE, and are looking to be backbones for their teams as they look to make playoff runs. A common storyline is the rugged veteran who can stay calm and lead the newer faces to successful seasons, and all of these picks will be looking to build upon their careers.
Who to look out for?
Do you remember your first month in MLE? The adjustment time always varies, but for these particular players, they’re looking to make an immediate splash. Snowfish, swooper, iMACandCHEEZ, Crumbsss, SaltyOliveOil, SendPie, and Twilight were all drafted over the weekend within a month of joining the server. They’ll be looking to bring the new blood and make a name for themselves as they race towards that top spot in the league.
AL player to watch:
You may have heard of him, but you have never actually heard him. The man without a mic, Purpleb0x started in FL last season with gaudy numbers before ranking out to AL, where he was not able to play much due to his limited availability. Since then, he has given up his 2015 Macbook Air and moved to a laptop much more suitable to run Rocket League. With that, he has shot up the scrim leaderboards from the last two months as he sits at #1 overall in 2s MVPR for those with more than 20 games played. I am sure the Hawks were thrilled to see him still available in the middle of the second round. At just an 11.5 salary, he will be looking to make a deep playoff run, and not saying a word about it.
Champion League
With the Champion League (CL) draft split over two days, there was much built up anticipation in the twenty something hours between. The draft was filled with many familiar names and new faces. As always, no matter your tenure in MLE, everyone is out to prove that they have what it takes to be drafted and help bring their team MLE glory!
Who’s new?
There were several names who did not have to wait for day two for their name to be called. Cranked, KauffBro, Zdog2017, JKFrost, Crossy4, and Dewbert all went in the first round in their first full season here MLE. Whether they killed it in tryouts, in scrims, or smashed their way through AL to be a first round CL pick, they are ready to show MLE what they have and take their teams to new heights with their new blood.
Who’s been here?
As always, we have some familiar faces, but now in new places. Wray, having served as the head of the Wolves Franchise for many seasons now, is jumping back into the player pool and was selected by the Flames. Deli is making a comeback to play, and longtime members WolfAlone and pav look to make a splash on their new teams. These players have combined over 13 years in the server and know what it takes to have success.
Who to look out for?
As we have already pointed out, there are lots of new faces around here, ready to make an impact. And when we say new, we mean it. Look out for these players who had been in the server less than a month before getting snagged very quickly in the draft! Frehgrunce, Peachy, TramplingCows, RobbyBobby, and Virtual Jesus are looking to capitalize on their quick impressions and bring trophies home.
CL player to watch:
No one has played more CL scrims than Cranked. In the last two months, he has put up extremely consistent numbers as he sits close to the top of every tracked stats in 2s. His 3s stats are also above average, and he boasts one of the best winning percentages in 3s, with over 100 games played. This is a big reason that he landed at #7 overall to the Elite. As an all-around player, he excels on offense and defense. With a 14 salary he should be making a lot of noise on the CL scene for a majority of the season.
Master League
Many have anticipated the Master League (ML) draft since the end of last season. ML saw a lot of ups and downs as many players ranked out to the top league (PL) and up-and-coming CL rank outs wanted to show what they had to offer. With the smallest player pool out of the three leagues with 32 franchises, we are excited to see many new names with some of chiseled veterans sprinkled in as well.
Who’s new?
Looking to inject new life are many first rounders who found just enough of a footing before the draft. As they move into their first full season as rostered players in MLE, be on the lookout for Akina, Uno Uno Seis, Algix, Renku, Pops Ryan, albinomuffin, and Jake as all of their teams found them worthy of their first round draft pick.
Who’s been here?
Whether they have been in the GC MMR range for years or they have worked their way up through the leagues throughout the seasons, ML is home to many of MLE’s longest standing members. Just a few to look out for, who make up over a combined twenty-one years in the server, are W., Haimgame, Jdubbz, Crey2k, and Manatee. They were just a few of many who were drafted for their skill on the pitch and potential leadership on the team.
Who to look out for?
As previously mentioned, franchise staff were eager to see more ML players join the league over the offseason. These players made a very quick impact as they were all drafted within just thirty days of being in the server. Deadzie, Arju, Taiyo, Beast, Viper., and remi, have clearly already made their marks with their teams and look to make their mark on all of MLE here in season 13.
ML player to watch:
Akina is looking to prove the Hive right by using their #1 overall pick on them. They had an extremely short stint last season with the Wizards, drafted and then subsequently ranked out to PL the following Monday and remained an FA for the rest of the season. After a little bit of league distribution, they are back in ML and showing they are a top dog. Sitting at #2 and #3, in 2s and 3s respectively, on the leaderboards for MVPR over the last two months, they are ready to be the pillar of the Hive’s roster. Sitting at a 16 salary, there should be plenty of time this season for the Hive to win a lot of games.