What type of goals do the best Rocket League players score? (1v1)

     Part of the reason I decided to start recording 1v1 data was I was interested in finding out what trends to look for. One of the most attractive aspects of Rocket League is how much a player's style impacts results. After compiling data from more than 190 high-level matches I believe the sample is large enough to start looking at some overall trends.

     In my spreadsheet I sorted all 25 players recorded by goal difference with the worst at the top and used the slope() formula to evaluate how dramatic the difference of a given stat was when comparing the best players to the worst.

 HYPOTHESIS: I believed that since we already know kickoff goals account for the highest % of goals scored in a given 1v1 match that we would see that stat near the top. I assumed that since misplays seem to happen with the worst players the most often that we would see that rate near the bottom.

 RESULTS:

CONCLUSIONS:

HEAVY CHALLENGES:

With 192 matches recorded, Heavy Challenges have so far been far and away the most common goal scored by the highest of the high-level players.  Skills necessary for consistent heavy challenges are typically shadow defending and quick/unexpected turns.  On the flip side, the desire for these players (offensively) to control the ball and flick surely contributes to this trend as well.

POWER SHOTS:

The second steepest positive slope (being the 2nd strongest trend) we see is Power Shot goals.  Typically these are not scored while defenders are well-positioned; rather - they are timed as such that the shot speed often surprises the defender.  Skills necessary for consistent power shots are shot accuracy, shot precision (hitting the ball with the corner of the car), and off-the-wall orientation.  Conversely, players typically are beaten by power shots when challenging early or greeding for boost.

AIR DRIBBLES:

Strangely, we see negative slopes for air dribbles both offensively and defensively.  This is the only statistic with this anomaly, with 'Air Dribble Against' being by far the most common goal that the worst players allow.  This means that the best players almost never give up air dribble goals, and they generally don't attempt to score them themselves.

There is plenty more to dive into with this data.  I will monitor it and revisit once we reach closer to 300 matches analyzed.  Thank you for all of your support, and please reach out to me via twitter (@RL_Metrics) if you have any questions or ideas.