Team Envy re-enter Rocket League signing Vanguard, ex-Ghost Gaming roster

Esport organisation Team Envy has re-entered Rocket League esports with the signing of the Vanguard roster, formerly known as Ghost Gaming.

Braxton "Allushin" Lagarec, Massimo "Atomic" Franceschi, and Nick "mist" Costello will get the chance to represent their new team in this weekend's North American Spring Series - a two-day knockout tournament with a 5,000 prize pool.

The acquisition isn't exactly a surprise, being hinted at by Team Envy's owner and CEO, Mike Rufail when he tweeted a racecar, football, and explosion on 22nd April - a clear and obvious nod towards Rocket League.

It won't be the first time that Team Envy has fielded a Rocket League roster, having previously had under its wing a European based squad which featured some of the games most recognisable names including mainstays Remco "remkoe" den Boer and David "Deevo" Morrow. They were a force in European Rocket League, if not exactly top tier, reaching the quarter-finals of RLCS Season 5 World Championship, their best performance and last time playing in Rocket League's premier competition.

That team, who at the time also included Jordan "EyeIgnite" Stellon, disbanded in July 2018, part of the organisation's drive to field rosters geographically close to their Dallas, Texas offices.

The Vanguard roster meets those requirements with all the players residing in North America - whether the team will relocate to Dallas and play from a team house is not yet known.

(Credit: Team Envy)

Hopes will be high for the team, after singing mist in the off-season they started RLCS Season 9 inconsistently but gradually improved, with Atomic in particular impressing finishing in 6th place and earning a spot at the Regional Championship. They would go on to defeat Cloud9 and Soniq Sushuenna, before being knocked out by Spacestation Gaming in the semi-finals.

Ghost Gaming subsequently released the team due to financial difficulties experienced by the organisation, they also released teams and individuals in Smite and Fortnite.

Team Envy will be hoping for more success than that, with this new North American based roster adding to their existing teams in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, and Overwatch, where they played under the Dallas Empire and Dallas Fuel banners respectively.