ROUNDS Rocket League triumph on home soil to be crowned Champions of Finland

The LanTrek weekend unfolded in arguably the single biggest achievement in ROUNDS history.

 

ROUNDS are officially the Champions of Finland in Rocket League. The Rakettiliiga eSM 2025 Finnish Championship event concluded this past weekend with the Top 6 battling it out at LanTrek 2025 at the Tampereen messu- ja urheilukeskus in Tampere, Finland. Coming into the event, ROUNDS were regarded as strong contenders for the title after having beaten last year’s eSM champs Clankers (later known as Quick Esports) 3-1 in the Upper Bracket Semifinals that were played online just a week before the LAN phase. This secured Top 3 for the boys in green before the event had even started.

On Friday ROUNDS played first, going up against formidable opponents Zero Error in the Upper Bracket Final. In this crucial matchup, not only was a spot in the Grand Final on the line, but that team would also gain the benefit of the bracket reset, meaning they would only need to win one Best of 7 -series to be crowned champions, instead of the two back-to-back required by the lower bracket side. After an absolute thriller of a series, ROUNDS ended up punching a ticket into the Grand Final with a 4-3 score, following an overtime goal by Veeti “FNSi” Kukkonen in the decider.

 

 

As many could predict, Quick Esports had no issue stomping through the lower bracket. With a 3-1 win over NaputiNaps, a 3-0 beating over Ballers, and a 4-1 triumph over Zero Error in the Lower Bracket Final, they found their way to the Grand Final to face ROUNDS once again, a repeat of the 2024 eSM finals matchup. As the Grand Final rolled around on Saturday, the clash of the titans was more or less what was to be expected. A very tight back and forth of the two ended up in favour of Quick Esports, as they snatched the first series 4-3, coming back from 0-2 and 2-3 down. This meant they had reset the bracket and we would require another Best of 7 to decide the winners.

Mentally taxing as it was for ROUNDS, a solid captain’s performance from Jesse “Renshiro” Rissanen built back the confidence and momentum of his side. Romanian superstar Sebastian “Alxx” Moroianu also showed up with standout performances, showcasing why he was widely regarded as the best player in the entire tournament. In Game 5 of the second BO7, ROUNDS clawed back from one goal behind to force overtime, and after 52 extra seconds played, Renshiro managed to catch a bouncing ball right into Quick Esports’ net, blowing the venue’s roof right off. With a score of 4-1, ROUNDS were crowned Champions of Finland for the first time, a title that had eluded Renshiro throughout his career.

 

 

It goes without saying for everyone present at the arena, but it’s worth mentioning the impact Jere “Jarkuu” Mattila had on the stage. Currently serving his military service, Jarkuu arrived mere hours before the first match against Zero Error. Coming in as the coach for ROUNDS at LanTrek, he deserves immense respect being a cornerstone of ROUNDS Rocket League, and an important part of why this core in particular made it to such great heights. A massive congratulations (and thank you!) from everyone here at ROUNDS to the Rocket League boys for bringing the Championship home, where it belongs.

Your 2025 eSM Gold Medalists, and therefore the current Champions of Finland are:
🇫🇮 Jesse “Renshiro” Rissanen
🇫🇮 Veeti “FNSi” Kukkonen
🇷🇴 Sebastian “Alxx” Moroianu
(C) 🇫🇮 Jere “Jarkuu” Mattila

Lari – finkka
ROUNDS