Rocket League is intense, high-octane action with so much going on at all times. Knowing the Rocket League is crucial to success when playing, will make watching RL esports much more interesting and most of all when betting on Rocket League.
In this alphabetical list of RL lingo, you’ll be the most iconic and common Rocket League terms used both casually and also in the professional scene such as during the Rocket League Championship Series.
A
Aerial – An aerial is any attempt to hit a ball in the air, whether it’s to pass, score or to simply contest possession. This is done thanks to the use of boost and double jumping.
Air dribble – Offering the highest ceiling of technical ability, air dribbling involves a player touching and maintaining possession while in the air – some of the best competitive clips of all time are air dribbles.
B
Back Wall – A common term for the wall above the goal, players tend to refer to it as the Back Wall.
Bicycle – Similar to traditional soccer, a bicycle kick in Rocket League terminology involves hitting the ball while spinning the car like a bicycle.
Boost – Boost is an essential mechanic in Rocket League, a resource which players compete over to be faster and quicker to the ball.
Boost starving – Defined as either a trolling move (players sabotaging their own team from boost) or a viable strategy (team intentionally robbing the other team’s boost), boost starving is something professionals often resort to.
Bounce dribbling – Repeatedly bouncing the ball while also maintaining possession is known as bounce dribbling.
Breezi Flick – One of the most complex moves in the game, the Breezi Flick is named for the content creator “Breezi” and combines several moves (tornado spin, musty flick + hood dribbling).
Bump – If two enemy cars crash into one another, but not quickly enough to cause a demolition, they simply bump into one another. In addition, teammates can also do this to each other either intentionally or accidentally – watch where you’re going.
C
Catching – Controlling a ball from the air before it hits the ground is catching – one of the more obvious Rocket League terms.
Ceiling Shot – A direct shot is too simple at the highest level, sometimes professionals go for what is called a ceiling shot, bouncing the ball into the ceiling intentionally to get to goal.
Ceiling Shuffle – Speaking of the ceiling, the ceiling shuffle is a particular technique which sticks a car to the ceiling by turning in a particular way.
Center – If you’re hitting the ball vaguely in the middle, you’re centering it according to Rocket League slang.
Cheat/Cheating – Two teammates lining up for the kick-off – one player goes for the ball while the other tries to anticipate where the ball is headed, cheating into its path. Careful to not misunderstand this term!
Clear – Similar to centering, clearing the ball implies kicking the ball away while in a defensive position, typically in your own goal.
Contest/Clash – Opponents fighting for one ball and colliding into it simultaneously are contesting/clashing one another for possession.
Crossbar – A near miss or a means of rebounding the ball into the goal, the crossbar is the horizontal limit above the goal.
D
Demolition/Demo – Playing hard and heavy can be rewarding in Rocket League – if players drive fast enough they can eliminate opponents and get them out of the game for a few precious seconds.
Dodge – Shortening the long-term ‘double jump flipping’, a dodge in Rocket League is not what the word typically means, but is a form of movement.
Doinking – Getting under a ball with speed before it hits the ball imparts a lot of speed and height to the ball, known as doinking in Rocket League words.
Doomsee dish – A strategy of approaching the opponents goal, the Doomsee dish has players attacking the corner, bouncing it off the wall and then taking a shot – a classic Rocket League move.
Double Jump – A very basic bit of movement, the classic double-jump is simple enough – the best moves are variants of this manoeuvre.
Double Tap/Touch – Similar to a Doomsee dish, a double tap has a player bouncing off the wall to pass to themselves in order to keep possession.
Dribble – Dribbling is a vague term for moving the ball around the map with several variants, such as push, hood, bounce and turtle dribbling as examples.
Dunk – A form of clearing the ball when blocking an opponent’s shot, although this term can also apply to the basketball game mode in Rocket League.
F
Fake – At the highest level, professionals try to fake each other out and give away false movements. Faking, at the highest level, can be very effective.
Fifty-fifty – When teams go for a clash or a contest, it can sometimes be described as a fifty-fifty, as both players have a fair chance at winning the ball for their team.
Flick/Flicking – Another basic move in Rocket League, the flick allows players to flip in a direction while hitting the ball at the same time. Variants of the flick include the 45 degree flick, musty flick, tornado flick, turtle flick and Breezi flick to name a few.
Flip reset/cancel – Restoring your flip is a complex move and lets players land the underside of their car on the ball. This is also known as half-flipping in Rocket League terminology.
Freestyling – Mix it up – go for a random combination of boost, flips and rolls to confuse your opponent in what’s called freestyling.
G
Goal line – The goal line is everything in Rocket League – in order the score the entire ball has to cross the entire line, not just half of the ball like in traditional soccer.
Ground/ing – If you don’t want to bounce the ball, bringing it back to the floor and keeping it there is known as grounding.
Guillotine passing – A form of passing at an angle, a bevelled pass is also known as a guillotine pass.
H
Half flip – Quicker than driving in a circle to turn around, the half flip lets professionals beat the turning circle by drifting in reverse and double-jumping backwards.
Hel-jump/Hel-dash – Jumping and dashing in a way that involves hitting the ground with the powerslide, letting players go straight into a flip – this is also known as a Wave jump.
Hood dribble – This variant of dribbling keeps the ball on the player’s car at all times while moving around.
I
Infield passing – Passing across the field, a simple pass between teammates along the line is often referred to as infield passing.
Interfere – While the opponent tries to line up a shot or carry out a dribble, interfering involves messing up the opponent’s possession or plans by getting in the way.
K
Kickoff – Every time the game needs to start over, teams restart in a set position to fight for a stationary ball in the middle of the pitch – the kickoff.
Kuxir pinch – A new term for a classic move, the Kuxir pinch involves players taking a shot by diving into the wall and pressing the ball to make a shot on goal thanks to the rebound.
L
Lob – Similar to clearing the ball, a lob involves less panic and is a generic term for bumping the car into the air in Rocket League terminology.
M
Mognus Flick – As a community term for the 180 backflip flip, the Mognus flip is a technically challenging move that involves spinning, backflipping and delay – difficult to master.
Musty Flick – Known as the Musty Flick, the underflip allows players to control the player with the bottom of their cars which also slows down the ball.
No Man’s Land – When a player is nowhere near the action or seems out of action, he/she can be deemed to be in No Man’s Land.
O
Overcommitting- Diving high into the sky requires time, boost and can be risky if you miss the ball. Putting a lot of effort and missing can be described as overcommitting.
Overtime – As the most exciting part of any competitive match, overtime begins when both teams are even and time runs out – play continues until one team scores and the game is over.
P
Pinch – A form of shooting the ball, a pinch is when a player jams the ball into the wall and forces it to fly at an angle.
Pop – To pop the ball means the tap it into the air while maintaining possession, without using the wall according to Rocket League terms.
Powershot – Very strong shots, secondary to a lot of boost and speed, the powershot is Rocket League’s equivalent of a knuckleball, up to 90 to 100km/ph.
Powerslide (+/-) cutting – Drifting while turning allows players to change directions very quickly while maintaining speed, elevating the pace of the gameplay.
Pressure – Pressuring in Rocket League is equivalent to challenging for possession, attempting tackles and simply fighting for the ball.
R
Rebound – After an attempted shot, the act of the ball bouncing away unpredictably is a rebound – interpreting the rebound is essential for reading the game.
Redirect – Changing the path of the ball intentionally, different to its original path is known as redirecting the ball. A well-timed redirect at the highest level can be the difference between a goal and a miss.
Rotate – Similar to other esports, “rotating” is the term used to describe moving across the map strategically.
S
Save – As simple as it gets, a save is a defensive move to stop an enemy from scoring in your goal.
Shadowing – When defending, there is little point in sitting still and waiting for the ball to come to you. Shadowing means maintaining a moderate distance from the ball while mimicking the opponent to anticipate where the ball will end up.
Softblock – Blocking isn’t as simple as stopping the passage of the ball. Depending on where the ball hits the car, the speed of the ball can change – a softblock is a way of stopping the ball with the car’s wheels to slow it down quickly.
Spring Roll – A specific move which involves popping the ball up, flipping the car over and using the jump mechanic to get to the ground quicker than the opponent.
Stalling – Don’t fancy finishing your flip? Stalling is a mechanic which involves air rolling to cancel the flip and is useful in a pinch.
T
Tilted drift – A simple term to describe a diagonal flip followed by a boost and turn – a very quick and very snappy move.
Tip – Barely tapping the ball is known as a tip, and these slight touches can be all the difference when handling an aerial.
Tornado Flick/Spin – A complex move, the tornado flick involves spinning horizontally and pulling off upside down aerials all while bounce dribbling.
Turtle – In Rocket League, playing with your car upside down is known as turtling. Form this term, moves such as the turtle flick and turtle roll are possible.
W
Wavedash – Known as one of the fastest ways to kick off the game, the wave dash allows players to time their boost and forward flips to get to the ball first.
Whiff – When you try your best but you don’t succeed – a bad miss is a whiff in Rocket League.
Z
Zero-second rule – In regular time, the zero-second rule is very simple. Once the time runs out, play continues until the ball hits the ground and when it does, the game is over either a winner is crowned or Overtime kicks off.
What Are Your Favourite Rocket League Terms?
Ever since being released in 2015, Rocket League has evolved to be an epic esport and a superb viewership spectacle. Moreover, there are a tonne of technical Rocket League terms which outline the skill gap between professionals and casual players.
As with all of our esports terminology pages, be sure to check out our full A-Z glossary section for overarching terms across all esports.
