Michael Di Gennaro

<div>In 2002, American magazine Sports Illustrated published an issue with a 16-year-old high schooler named LeBron James on the cover. Plastered on the lower left-hand side was the headline ‘THE CHOSEN ONE’. With this cover came a new era: before he had even gotten old enough to choose what university he would be attending, the young James had been crowned the heir to basketball’s throne, the golden child that would carry the game following the retirement of its most iconic player, Michael Jordan.</div><div><br></div><div>It was the highest expectations ever placed on an athlete so young, and to 99.9% of the world, this type of earth-crushing pressure would have folded them. They would’ve gotten an ego and coasted, or succumbed and used the hype as an excuse for any and all failures. LeBron James, however, embraced the mantra, and the idea that he&nbsp;was destined for greatness. He went so far as to get “CHOSEN ONE” tattooed on his back, and went on to become arguably the greatest basketball player of all time.</div><div><br></div><div>16-year-old Daniel "<a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/players/4363-daniel" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Daniel</a>" Piecenski probably won’t be getting any giant tattoos on his back anytime soon, but the anticipation surrounding his arrival in the RLCS was as close the esport has gotten to a LeBron-esque buildup since the original prodigy, Kyle "<a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/players/3eb5-scrub-killa" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Scrub Killa</a>" Robertson, entered the professional scene in 2018. Ever since he began dominating 1v1 show matches, he was touted as North America’s savior, a generational talent that would fundamentally change the trajectory of the team he would join and the landscape of North American Rocket League in the process.</div><div><br></div><div><img src="https://octane-content.s3.amazonaws.com/Daniel_RLCS_2021_22_Winter_Major_Psyonix_2fd2df0c19.jpg"></div><div>Daniel at the RLCS 2021-22 Winter Major - <em>Image courtesy of Psyonix</em></div><div><br></div><div>There have always been young up-and-comers who fans were anticipating, but the hype around Daniel just felt different. When the time finally came for Daniel to enter the RLCS following the 2021-22 Fall Split, all eyes were on him. Some were eagerly awaiting his reign; others were praying on his downfall. It was the same way with LeBron. And like LeBron, Daniel spent his first year as a pro proving all the haters wrong, and living up to the world-beating expectations that were placed upon him.</div><div><br></div><div>Though Daniel had his pick at joining multiple contending rosters, he chose to join <a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/teams/2389-spacestation-gaming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Spacestation Gaming</a>, who had been at the apex of North America in RLCS X, capturing the <a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/events/3a3a-rlcs-x-fall-north-america-major" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">North American Fall Major</a>, two Regionals, and finishing second in the <a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/events/e851-rlcs-x-championship-north-america" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">North American Championships</a>. SSG struggled to carry that success in the 2021-22 Fall Split, narrowly missing out on the <a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/events/6426-rlcs-2021-22-fall-major" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Fall Major</a> in a <a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/matches/d437-spacestation-gaming-vs-complexity-gaming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">tiebreak</a> loss to <a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/teams/3e29-complexity-gaming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Complexity Gaming</a>. The roster broke up after that, and Spacestation brought in Daniel to replace Caden "<a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/players/3ede-sypical" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Sypical</a>" Pellegrin, their previous franchise player and the inspiration behind Daniel’s mechanical, defensive playstyle. Daniel would be expected to fill Sypical’s role on SSG, anchoring and playmaking while teammates Tshaka "<a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/players/3eda-arsenal" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Arsenal</a>" Taylor and Slater “<a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/players/4263-retals" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Retals</a>” Thomas created controlled chaos across the field.</div><div><br></div><div>&lt;iframe src="https://clips.twitch.tv/embed?clip=MistyBlushingMushroomFloof-AUf5NYjcblZDoLtk&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><br></div><div>From the first Regional, Daniel’s impact was felt both on and off the pitch. In the <a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/events/7fd5-rlcs-2021-22-winter-north-america-regional-1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">X Games Open</a>, his first tournament as a pro, Spacestation reached their highest placement in 2021-22 to that point with a second-place finish that included a win over Sypical and his new team, <a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/teams/c155-faze-clan" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">FaZe Clan</a>. It wasn’t just that SSG was playing better than they had at any point in the Fall: they looked like a team of destiny, and the chemistry and atmosphere around the team looked significantly better with Daniel on the team. Daniel wasn’t just there for good vibes, though. He was excellent during his first go at the RLCS, posting a 1.03 rating to go along with 0.8 goals per game. He played even better in his <a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/events/68f4-rlcs-2021-22-winter-north-america-regional-2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">second Regional</a>, upgrading to a 1.09 rating and helping SSG to a fourth-place finish that punched their ticket to the <a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/events/6427-rlcs-2021-22-winter-major" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Winter Major</a>. And that’s where the magic truly began.</div><div><br></div><div>Despite a rocky start in the group stage, Daniel had figured out LAN play by the time SSG reached the crowd days. In his first ever series in front of a crowd against rival <a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/teams/5d03-version1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Version1</a>, Daniel posted a 1.14 rating and had an absurd 90% goal participation, one of which was a gorgeous full-field flip-reset air dribble to even the score in the eventual series-clinching game 6. While Daniel and SSG weren’t able to win the event, losing in a heartbreaker to Team Queso, Spacestation had gone from declining to exciting, all powered by their young superstar.</div><div><br></div><div>&lt;iframe src="https://clips.twitch.tv/embed?clip=ManlyPopularHabaneroArgieB8-k7EgZGdadC4zOwWz&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>Results-wise, the Spring Split was much of the same for Daniel and SSG, once again finishing second, fourth, and 9-12th en route to another LAN qualification. And if Los Angeles was Daniel establishing himself as a bright new star in Rocket League, <a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/events/7b36-rlcs-2021-22-spring-major" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">London</a> was him cementing his status as one of the best for years to come. Though they only finished 5-6th, SSG went seven games with both tournament finalists, and held a lead over eventual winners <a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/teams/5926-moist-esports" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Moist Esports</a> in their matchup’s final seconds before a kickoff mishap led to their demise. This tournament was also the first time Spacestation truly felt like Daniel’s team, where he was no longer a wide-eyed youngster and had grown into the cornerstone he showed the potential to be. His 1.1 rating was good for eighth overall across the entire tournament, despite going 2-2 in the double-elimination bracket.</div><div><br></div><div>Spacestation had a rough <a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/events/6425-rlcs-2021-22-world-championship" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">World Championship</a>: after a strong 2-0 start in Wildcard where they swept rival Version1, Arsenal came down with a nasty case of food poisoning. While he was able to recover enough for them to make it through the Wildcard, SSG’s 9th-12th performance likely would have been improved upon if not for health and team chemistry issues. These setbacks affected the entire team, including Daniel, who went from the 1.1 rating in London to a 1.02 in Fort Worth.</div><div><br></div><div><img src="https://octane-content.s3.amazonaws.com/Daniel_RLCS_2021_22_World_Championship_Psyonix_34c8863e76.jpg"></div><div>Daniel at the RLCS 2021-22 World Championship - <em>Image courtesy of Psyonix</em></div><div><br></div><div>In the offseason, Spacestation continued to show their belief that Daniel was their foundation going forward, replacing the fan-favorite Retals with Logan “<a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/players/426a-lj" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Lj</a>” Wilt, a young star who Daniel has a friendship with. In their first Split as a trio, Daniel, Lj, and Arsenal didn’t hit the lofty heights fans were aiming for. Daniel still wasn’t able to capture a Regional win, but his dominant play earned three 3rd-4th finishes to qualify for the <a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/events/467c-rlcs-2022-23-fall-major" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Fall Major</a> LAN, where they were knocked out in Round 5 of Swiss.</div><div><br></div><div>While they may not have seen the early team success they were hoping for, the 2022-23 Fall Split was yet another massive step for Daniel individually. He finished third overall across all regionals in rating with 1.13, only behind Jack “<a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/players/4161-apparentlyjack" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ApparentlyJack</a>” Benton and Jason “<a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/players/3eb6-firstkiller" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Firstkiller</a>” Corral, two players that are generally considered the best North America has to offer. He scored 0.86 goals per game, also good for 3rd across qualifying players in NA, and put up a ridiculous 456 points per game, the second best mark behind ApparentlyJack by less than one point. He followed that excellent split up by finishing 7th overall in rating and 4th in goals per game at the Fall Major. There was no more denying it: Daniel was a certified hard-carry, and had gotten to the point where he could drag any team to decent results in the same way that his North American forefathers Firstkiller and Justin “<a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/players/3dcf-jstn" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">jstn.</a>” Morales had done in the past.</div><div><br></div><div>The biggest knock on Daniel’s career thus far is that he hasn’t won anything at the professional level. He’s constantly compared to Firstkiller and Landon “<a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/players/41b8-beastmode" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">BeastMode</a>” Konerman, two players who have won multiple Regionals while he’s fallen short. But through 2022, Daniel was as good as anyone in the RLCS. He consistently powered his team to international events, gave highlight performance after highlight performance, and successfully transitioned his online game to LAN, something many still struggle with.</div><div><br></div><div>LeBron James, the most exciting prospect in the history of basketball, didn’t win a championship until he was in year 9 of his NBA journey. That didn’t stop him from being recognized as one of the all-time greats of the game before he turned 25. For Rocket League’s golden boy, winning won’t define his greatness either: it’ll just be the cherry on top. With a strong organization, hell-bent on succeeding with him at the helm, and a constantly improving game that shows passion and desire to be the greatest who ever did it, Daniel’s 2023 is poised to be even better than his brilliant rookie campaign.</div><div><br></div><div>&lt;iframe src="https://clips.twitch.tv/embed?clip=TrustworthyClearSeahorsePicoMause-npQjT9LjDgTUDYr9&amp;parent=www.shiftrle.gg&amp;autoplay=false" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" scrolling="no" height="378" width="620"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;</div>

Spacestation Gaming's unrelenting rookie enjoyed a superb debut year in 2022, earning him tenth place on our list.

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