Travis Messall

<div>Slotting in at fifth on the list is the reigning North American MVP, Massimo “<a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/players/3fe6-atomic" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Atomic</a>” Franceschi. <a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/teams/23a5-g2-esports" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">G2 Esports</a>’ 19-year-old superstar had one of the most impressive individual years in history, as G2 Esports became top contenders the moment he arrived on the roster. Atomic and his teammates won three Regionals, the <a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/events/6427-rlcs-2021-22-winter-major" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Winter Major</a>, and reached the Grand Finals of the <a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/events/6425-rlcs-2021-22-world-championship" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">World Championship</a>.</div><div><br></div><div>Atomic had previously played with <a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/teams/23b2-team-envy" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Team Envy</a>, but joined G2 Esports right at the start of the new year. “<strong>I was very excited to join G2 and see what we could do</strong>,” Atomic said. “<strong>The process was very stressful, since it was very hard for the deal to go through and it was during the holidays, but once it went through I was just focused on the season.</strong>”</div><div><br></div><div>Atomic didn’t immediately fit in on the roster, due to the extreme playstyle change, but was happy to be a part of G2 Esports: “<strong>I think at first, it was a bit difficult since I had to get used to a different way of playing, but once [I got used to it] I was glad to play with them. The new playstyle was almost entirely opposite of the one on Envy, so it took a bit of time to adjust.</strong>”</div><div><br></div><div>&lt;iframe src="https://clips.twitch.tv/embed?clip=AssiduousTangentialTeaKippa-qekiliFHy5CZr85w&amp;parent=www.shiftrle.gg&amp;autoplay=false" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" scrolling="no" height="378" width="620"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;</div><div><br></div><div>Atomic and G2 Esports breezed through the Winter Split, winning the <a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/events/68f4-rlcs-2021-22-winter-north-america-regional-2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">second Regional</a> and going into the Winter Major as North America’s second seed. “<strong>Going into the Winter Major, I was very confident on placing well,</strong>” said Atomic. “<strong>As we played more teams in scrims leading up to the event, my expectations rose since we were doing well against everyone there.</strong>”</div><div><br></div><div>G2 Esports, and especially Atomic, put on a show in the Winter Major. They won over 63% of their games, dropping only one series en route to the organization’s (and all three players’) first RLCS LAN victory. Atomic had highlight-reel play after highlight-reel play, including a ceiling pass to beat <a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/teams/dc74-team-bds" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Team BDS</a> in the group stage and a pre-jump play against <a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/teams/ac15-team-queso" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Team Queso</a> in the grand finals. On his creativity, Atomic said: “<strong>Whenever I'm feeling confident in how we're playing, I start feeling like I'm reading the other team and it lets me go for plays that I don't always go for.</strong>”</div><div><br></div><div><img src="https://octane-content.s3.amazonaws.com/G2_Esports_RLCS_2021_22_Winter_Major_Psyonix_a037caf5ef.jpg"></div><div>Atomic and his teammates after winning the Winter Major - <em>Image courtesy of Psyonix</em></div><div><br></div><div>Atomic also stepped up in a big way in the Grand Finals, leading all players with ten goals and nine assists. He also scored a hat-trick in Game 6 of the second series, capping off an MVP performance in spectacular fashion. On winning the Winter Major MVP, Atomic said “<strong>It definitely was nice to win the award, since every player would like to win it, and I also felt like it was nice to win it to show I rightfully earned my spot on the roster.</strong>”</div><div><br></div><div><img src="https://octane-content.s3.amazonaws.com/Atomic_Quote_1_432dbb3306.jpg"></div><div><em>Photo courtesy of Psyonix</em></div><div><br></div><div>Atomic’s run of success didn’t end at the Winter Major, however. G2 Esports dominated the Spring Split in North America, winning the first two events and only losing the third in Game 7 overtime, finishing one goal away from history. No team in European or North American history has ever won all three Regionals in a single Split. “<strong>We were pretty disappointed to not sweep the Regionals,</strong>” said Atomic, “<strong>but we also looked at the bigger picture and realized that we were in good form going into the Major and that was the win everyone would remember.</strong>”</div><div><br></div><div>G2 Esports fell short of their expectations at the <a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/events/7b36-rlcs-2021-22-spring-major" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Spring Major</a>, winning only one series to finish 9th-12th, their worst result of 2022. “<strong>London was a weird event, because I think we came in very slow, not bringing the energy needed to win big series,</strong>” said Atomic. “<strong>That was along with complacency affecting us before the event, but we still got reverse swept twice so I still think if we had had more meaningful practice while we were at the event and been more clinical, we could've closed those series out.</strong>”</div><div><br></div><div><img src="https://octane-content.s3.amazonaws.com/Atomic_RLCS_2021_22_Spring_Major_Psyonix_156c558480.jpg"></div><div>Atomic at the RLCS 2021-22 Spring Major - <em>Image courtesy of Psyonix</em></div><div><br></div><div>The disappointment of the Spring Major was short-lived for G2 Esports, as they had the top spot in the North American standings and entered the World Championship as the nr. 2 overall seed. The tournament would feature an astounding 60 best-of-seven matchups, 24 teams, and lasted 10 days. Atomic was especially excited: “<strong>It felt great to finally be able to play at a World Championship, since I went pro at the start of the online era. Anyone that I had teamed with who had gone to Worlds would tell me how amazing Worlds was, and it did live up to all the hype.</strong>”</div><div><br></div><div>Atomic’s playmaking skills were on display from the beginning, as he averaged an astounding 1.5 assists per game in his first ever World Championship series against his former team <a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/teams/a193-optic-gaming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">OpTic Gaming</a>. G2 Esports then defeated <a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/teams/c81f-furia-esports" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">FURIA</a> 4-2, punching their ticket to Championship Sunday, an eight-team, single elimination playoff bracket with the ultimate prize awaiting the victors.</div><div><br></div><div>Atomic had never been to a World Championship, let alone Championship Sunday, but was ready for the moment. He scored twice and assisted three more times as G2 Esports blew out <a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/teams/23a0-nrg-esports" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NRG</a> in their opening match, and would go on to dominate the semi-finals matchup against <a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/teams/c155-faze-clan" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">FaZe Clan</a>. He led all players in averaging 445 score per game, posting four goals, four assists, and 15 saves to lead G2 Esports to a 4-2 series victory.</div><div><br></div><div><img src="https://octane-content.s3.amazonaws.com/atomic_quote_2_95500a5321.png"></div><div><em>Photo courtesy of Psyonix</em></div><div><br></div><div>“<strong>The Grand Finals itself was a really big moment that I think we took a bit for granted. It’s my, and I think any pro’s, goal to get to a World Championship Grand Finals and win it.</strong>”</div><div><br></div><div>G2 Esports had the crowd on their side but ultimately fell short against Team BDS, losing 4-1 to end their season and their World Championship dreams. It was still an incredible 2021-22 season for Atomic, as he won half of all Regionals in the Winter and Spring Splits, a Major, and nearly claimed a World Championship with G2 Esports. Atomic was also named North American MVP for the 2021-22 season, an incredible feat.</div><div><br></div><div><img src="https://octane-content.s3.amazonaws.com/Atomic_RLCS_21_22_NA_MVP_567ff501d2.jpg"></div><div><br></div><div>The offseason between that World Championship and the beginning of the 2022-23 season was quite short, with qualifiers starting back up again on September 30th after the World Championship ended on August 14th. Atomic kept it simple over the short offseason: “<strong>I didn’t do too much, I visited some family and hung out with some friends while still trying to play [Rocket League] a bit so when the season started back up I wasn’t on a super long break.</strong>”</div><div><br></div><div>The 2022-23 Fall Split was G2 Esports’ most difficult Split as a whole since adding Atomic, as they barely squeaked into the <a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/events/467c-rlcs-2022-23-fall-major" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Major</a> after beating <a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/teams/3e29-complexity-gaming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Complexity Gaming</a> in the <a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/events/c036-rlcs-2022-23-fall-north-america-regional-3" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Fall Invitational</a> quarterfinals. “<strong>I think we came into the Fall Split underestimating some teams and overestimating ourselves, which led us to some pretty poor results</strong>,” said Atomic. “<strong>With that complacency you also lack the energy to win big series and so we were just sort of going through the motions for the Split until the very end.</strong>”</div><div><br></div><div>&lt;iframe src="https://clips.twitch.tv/embed?clip=PeacefulDirtyParrotWTRuck-PHTKAQz37HBTM6qR&amp;parent=www.shiftrle.gg&amp;autoplay=false" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" scrolling="no" height="378" width="620"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;</div><div><br></div><div>The Fall Major went similarly to the Regionals for G2 Esports, as they started slowly before figuring it out. They went 0-2 after their first two series, but beat <a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/teams/bd34-james-cheese" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">James Cheese</a> and <a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/teams/3919-team-falcons" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Team Falcons</a> to make it to 2-2. They ultimately lost to <a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/teams/5926-moist-esports" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Moist Esports</a> in an intense five-game series, but found things to build on at the end of their run: “<strong>I think Rotterdam was pretty good for us, and towards the end, I think we started understanding what we wanted to do more, which is something to build off.</strong>”</div><div><br></div><div>Atomic also set an incredible record in the Fall Major, dishing out 1.16 assists per game, the most ever in an RLCS LAN event.</div><div><br></div><div><img src="https://octane-content.s3.amazonaws.com/Atomic_APG_LAN_record_69d1a6cbf8.png"></div><div><em>Photo courtesy of Psyonix</em></div><div><br></div><div>In 2023, Atomic wants to continue his success: “<strong>I'd like to win some big LAN and online tournaments, especially Worlds, and get better and more consistent individually in all parts of my life.</strong>”</div>

The catalyst behind G2 Esports' renaissance takes fifth place on our list after claiming a Major title and a silver medal at the World Championship.

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