From the ashes of l’En Avant de Guingamp, a new old French squad has come out of les bleus, in the form of top5rocket. The squad, filled with some of our favorite Frenchies in Premiership, have decided to band together and show face again after having been absent since Season 30. Top5rocket comprises of medic Ombrack, demoman Elacour, and soldiers Corbac and Opti. Rounding out the roster will be scouts Néo and dmoule.
After the team exploded mid-air halfway Season 30, several players found refuge landing amongst other top teams, as we saw Corbac compete with Faint Gaming, getting a respectable 3rd place. Ombrack did it his way, as he tagged into an iteration of SVIFT in Season 31, which would play under Faint Gaming in the following season. That same season Corbac molded a new French team, with fellow top5rocket veteran Néo, achieving a respectable 5th place. Opti, having been previously part of the launch team with top5rocket on scout, stranded on The Theorists in Season 32 on the roaming soldier role.
This will be the first ETF2L-recorded roster transaction in which dmoule will be brought onboard as a starter for the top5rocket team. (picture by Ness "uberchain" Delacroix)
Team newcomer dmoule hasn’t been seen in Premiership for a while, his last appearance being nearly a year ago on The Bus Crew under Yohn. Nevertheless, he was seen at Copenhagen Games on a nostalgic LEGO roster, of which he has played with for several seasons, where the team at LAN placed 7th–8th after being knocked out of the tournament by The Bus Crew. Although dmoule has a ton of experience, this will be the first time that we see him on a double jumping class. The LEGO veteran is mostly known for playing demoman and soldier; as such, his experience makes him a valuable asset to round out the roster, and his Frenchness makes him a valuable Frenchie to round out the Frenchies.
Historically, top5rocket consisted of mostly French players have climbed their way through the ranks, taking 1st Place from LAN events such as GA'lloween 2015 and Gamers Assembly 2016. Their most notable ETF2L successes, however, were with a mixture of nationalities. Having shared the bed with credu and Fluo in Season 28, the team managed to gain 2nd place under the Ascent.EU brand, giving SVIFT a run for their money by pushing it to a fourth map in the Grand Finals. The following season, Ascent.EU again managed to get hold of another 2nd place, after Funs, Josh, and chris tagged up with Ombrack, Corbac and credu.
Ombrack has been a part of the most notable iterations of top5rocket throughout ETF2L's history, including when the team was picked up under nerdRage and Ascent. (picture by Ness "uberchain" Delacroix and Jasmine "Jasbutts" Ho)
Team leader Ombrack had the following words to say to the press before launch:
The idea to do a top5 reform was brought up by Corbac around the end of last season. At that time the "secured" players were Corbac, Neo and Opti. The idea was appealing, and when it was clear that Faint wouldnt continue, and that Elacour wouldn't get his spot back in Ascent, we both decided to join in. We were then missing a scout, and with already two completely or almost completely french teams, it seemed a bit daunting. But dmoule showed interest to play scout, and being the well-rounded player that he is, he fit in quite well.
As for what happened last time we reformed, to be completely honest I didn't even remember that we folded mid-season, so I think it's fair to say it had no impact on our decision to play together again. And at this point, we're basically making our usual mix crew a team once more, so it's all good fun.”
With the countdown starting for Season 33, top5rocket is ready to blast off with:
- Scout: dmoule
- Scout: Néo
- Roamer: Corbac
- Pocket: Opti
- Demoman: Elacour
- Medic: Ombrack