Scoring goals is the flashy way of winning a match in Rocket League. But denying your opponent the opportunity to score is sometimes even more important. “Offense wins games, defense wins championships” is a saying in traditional sports, and there’s certainly a bit of truth to it.
There’s no traditional goaltender role in Rocket League. However, every team has a player who’s there to defend the goal. We wondered who among the RLCS veterans might be on top of the goalkeepers list. We took a look at all players who have played at least 100 RLCS games and compared their average number of saves per game using the Octane database.
5. Snaski – 1.61 saves per game
Nicolai Vistesen Andersen, better known as Snaski, is a Rocket League veteran who already competed in RLCS Season 1. He celebrated his biggest success with The Leftovers in Season 3 where he and his teammates finished on 4th place at the World Championship in Los Angeles.
Snaski currently plays for Fnatic, and even though their season was a bit shaky (ended on last place, but managed to avoid a demotion into the RLRS), he’s still a good saviour. In his 178 RLCS matches, he averaged 1.61 saves per game, granting him a place on this list.
@Snaski10 looking pretty snazzy with the double tap to score the first goal of game 1!#DHOpen https://t.co/3RUVjqIdam pic.twitter.com/h2V8S8TmA0
— Rocket League Esports (@RLEsports) 27. Januar 2018
4. Dappur – 1.62 saves per game
CLG’s Chris “Dappur” Mendoza had a tough season. His team struggled throughout the weeks of league play. They finished on 7th place and lost in the Promotion Playoffs to FlyQuest and Allegiance, sending them down to the RLRS in Season 6.
Despite that, Dappur is one hell of a player. He’s constantly on top of global leaderboards and also one of the best goalies in the game, averaging 1.62 saves per game. Side note: His teammate Mijo might steal Dappur’s goalie crown. He currently has an average of 1.63 saves per game across 79 games. Last season he even finished with 2.00 saves per game, making him 2nd on the Savior of the Season board in North America.
We’ve all had that one teammate, but we’re not all @Dappur. pic.twitter.com/xvyemsN3r8
— The Rocket Dailies (@Rocket_Dailies) 26. April 2018
3. Chausette45 – 1.79 saves per game
Now, we’re entering the big leagues: Thibault “Chausette45” Grzesiak is only 17 years old, but he already sits on 196 RLCS games in which he averaged an impressive 1.79 saves per game.
Chausette was PSG’s best goalie last season (1.76 saves per game, compared to Bluey’s 1.41 and Ferra’s 1.14), and he will be crucial in PSG’s attempt to nullify their shaky last season.
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Throwback to @ChausetteRL‘s best moves of the season as there is just one more week left before the @NorthernArena Rocket League tournament !
?? #ICICESTPARIS pic.twitter.com/gNnzZfOZfD
— PSG eSports (@PSGeSports) 7. Juli 2018
2. Mognus – 1.80 saves per game
Mognus is a beast. The compLexity player from Finland not only has an insane win rate across his 164 RLCS games, but he’s also responsible for keeping the goal clean in so many matches. 1.80 saves per game… do we need to say anything else?
What an execution. @Mognus_RL ended a 5-minute OT’s life by dropping this double touch on its neck like a knife blade. (via @RLEsports) pic.twitter.com/MIMgBnNoc3
— The Rocket Dailies (@Rocket_Dailies) 2. April 2018
1. Freakii – 1.92 saves per game
There’s only one RLCS veteran who has more saves on average than Mognus, and it’s kind of ironic that this is a player who just got kicked from his team: Sandro “Freakii” Holzwarth. He has an average of 1.92 saves per game throughout his career of 146 RLCS games – impressive!
Last season, his average fell down to 1.87 saves per game, which still made him top 5 of the season. He’s currently still a part of Vitality, but was moved to the inactive roster while his former teammates, Paschy and FairyPeak, want to explore new options for the roster.
That’s the thing with guys like Fireburner and FreaKii, who end up making most of the saves on their team. It’s gonna happen to you. It ain’t gonna happen to the guy who scores 2 goals a game and makes less than a save. It’s the defender. It takes thick skin to accept that role.
— Sean stackhouse (@StaxRL) 14. Juni 2018
We know these are just pure numbers. And there are lots of other fantastic goalies out there. Who’s your favorite? Head over to our Discord server and discuss Rocket League esports with our community.
