I Interviewed Multi-WR Holding Streamer Mizu About The Tricks of The Speedrunning Trade.
Speedrunning Rocket League workshop maps is a criminally underrated goalpost. When players begin pushing through high ranks, you might hear them mutter statements about joining competitive leagues. We’ve all got that one friend who nosedived into RL freestyling. You might hear someone talk about becoming a coach.
Some people pile into the trading scene – Gunning big ticket items like White Apex.
But RL speedrunners? It’s almost unheard of.
Still, a tight knit community exists, and for good reason. There’s no better way to train your mechanics than grinding workshop maps. And giving yourself a leaderboard to chase is an awesome incentive that’ll make your training hours more entertaining.
So today I want to shed some light on the Rocket League workshop speedrunning community. I plucked an interview with Mizu. He’s one of the most popular streamers on the car ball scene – securing a spot as one of the best RL YouTubers. He’s cusping the RLCS bubble. He’s broken into the top 100 charts in 1v1’s multiple times.
And he’s held two world records. One WR in DMC’s Speed Jump Rings 3, and the other for longest ground dribble.
He’s the best inspirational figure I could find for a post like this. Enjoy!
“Alright. Before I get ahead of myself, give yourself a shout.”
Mizu: I’m Mizu. I’m a semi-pro Rocket League player. I’m a top 100 player in 1’s, I’ve been climbing that ladder. I share my journey to RLCS on Facebook daily. Numerically, I’m the #1 streamer on FB right now. We’ve got a big community over there, so it’s worth checking out!
I upload clips to Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.
“Mizu is a cool name choice! A quick search told me it’s Japanese for water.”
Mizu: Yeah!
I used to go by the name DappurKnight1 back on PS4. And when I transitioned to PC, I really wanted to go pro. There’s already a pro named Dappur, so I scurried for a different name.
I really dig water.
So I asked myself how I could make an appealing brand from that. I thought about Hydro, Aqua, Water. Those all sounded a little lame.
So I checked up on the Japanese word for water, and found Mizu. I totally geeked out about Mizukage from Naruto. After some thought, it grew on me. It’s short, sweet, and cool. It’s pronounced like it looks.
I decided I wouldn’t overthink it. I liked it, so it stuck.
“Mizu, What sparked your interest in speedrunning Rocket League workshop maps?”
Mizu: Honestly, I’ve never been a huge speedrunner. I didn’t have a big background in it or anything. But I’ve always really enjoyed DMC’s Rings 3 workshop map. My audience enjoyed watching it, too.
At first, I watched the world record and thought, “There’s no way I’m beating that! He does some crazy things. I’d have to put so much time into the map.”
I started playing the map more and more. I was like, “You know what? I put so much time into this map, maybe I can snatch that Rings 3 world record. I think I’ll just do it.”
So, I ran a November charity stream for men’s mental health.
I told chat: “You know what? If I break the world record for Rings 3 tonight, I’ll donate $500. Out of my own pocket.”
They wagered some of their cash, too. We hit a pool of about $1800 for men’s mental health. So I spent about 2-3 hours blasting Rings 3 on repeat. Over and over and over.
And eventually, I got it! I was stoked.
I really enjoyed the sensation I felt after I picked up my first “World Record” title. So, I decided to take on the longest ground dribble challenge. I nailed it, and now I’ve got two world records to my name.
I’m pretty sure my record was overtaken recently, but I bet I could get it back.
“Have you made any friends or rivals along the way who’ve helped you push into higher-ranked lobbies? Can you share a personal experience you grew from?”
Mizu: Absolutely. I always tell my teammates that workshop maps are like steroids for your mechanics.
I’m actually teamed with a guy, his name is C Money, who was struggling with some ball control. I hit him with a map. He was like, “This map’s IMPOSSIBLE!”
I told him to stick it out for an hour a day every week. He stuck to it.
We started running scrims, and he was just dribbling past everyone. I said, “Boom! I told you, man! I told you!”
So workshop maps are a total game-changer, for sure.
And through the speedrunning community, I’ve met some good people. Sometimes I’ll race them on the maps, which is tons of fun. It helps me focus on staying informed with specific mechanics. It allows me dramatic improvement.
Two of my favorite maps are “The Floor is Lava” and “The Eversax Dribbling Challenge.”
“Sweet! Good taste, man.”
Mizu: They’re two solid maps for building ball control. My friend, Will, is insane at “The Floor is Lava.” He’s SSL in 1’s, as well.
Both of us are really confident we can beat the world record this week. We’re having a bit of a race to see who shatters it first.
“What’s your favorite workshop map to play?”
Mizu: It’s still Rings 3 by DMC. Hands down.
What core mechanical skills would you recommend to anyone hoping to hop into RL speedrunning?
MIzu: If you’re going to get into Rocket League speedrunning, I think it really depends on the map you’re hitting.
But most maps are either focused on car control or ball control.
If it’s car control, you’ll want to focus on two main things:
First is drift. Like really being able to drift and hold your momentum in tight angles if you’re on the ground. A LOT of people don’t use drift enough to maintain their momentum.
The other is pinpoint, consistent directional air roll inputs. Being able to directional air roll into flat spinning, straight, and perfect on command is essential for breaking world records when it comes to car control workshop maps.
Definitely prioritize that.
In my world record run on Rings 3, I landed a pogo off of one of the rings to maintain more momentum, so I bet that’s a viable strategy in other ring maps.
When it comes to breaking records like Eversax or any of the dribbling challenges:
Number one is ball control.
I have a coach, he highlighted something important for my ball control. When the ball is on top of your car, you want to hit the dribbling sweet spot where there aren’t any sparks transferring from your car to the ball. If you can reach the point where there’s 0 sparks, and the ball’s just barely spinning, you have PERFECT ball control.
And to tackle these maps in record-breaking times, you’ll need perfect ball control.
On top of that, you need to master air dribbling incredibly high from the ground. Like popping the ball from nothing. Air dribbling helps you slice some shortcuts through maps that can shift a mediocre run into a new world record.
Anyway, it depends on the map.
“Do you think speedrunning helped you gain exposure for finding a team for RLCS qualifiers?”
Mizu: In regards to other pro and bubble players, I think it could help, but it’s super minimal.
Holding world records is more appealing to casuals, onlookers, and fans. It helps a lot content-creation wise! But I don’t think pro players or bubble players concern themselves with RL speedrunning.
They want to see your skill on the pitch.
Potential teammates might see you and think, “Oh, hey! I know that guy. He has a few world records,” but they won’t turn around thinking, “Yeah, this guy is CRACKED!”
A fan might say you’re like the best dribbler in the world, but there’s definitely different perspectives between the inner-circle and the onlookers.
“What are the requirements for uploading a run? Did you encounter any hiccups in the process?”
Mizu: Mainly you just have to record it.
I actually ran into an issue uploading mine.
Don’t do what I did.
During my November charity run, I hit the true world record. The one listed is a little slower and was recently overtaken by like a tenth of a second.
But I should have one with a faster time! I shaved off a half second, but it didn’t count.
Because I picked up a donation mid-run, and I paused the run by hitting the menu button to shout out the donation.
The people in the speedrunning committee voided it. They tack on menu time. And pausing is forbidden. It sucked.
So, yeah. It’s easy to record and upload. Just don’t do what I did. Don’t smash the start button, and stay out of the main menu. It matters.
“Do you have any future plans for tackling more endurance challenges like longest air dribble?”
Mizu: I don’t think I’m ever doing an air dribble world record. There’s a lot of speculation that the current leaderboard is full of sped up footage. They might have done it in slow motion.
I’m honestly not even sure that makes it easier. You’re sitting there for 8-10 hours holding an air dribble.
“Right? It’s like clocking in for a full shift with no bathroom breaks or paychecks!”
Mizu: Yeah. So…
I’d rather… not do that.
I’ve already toppled an endurance challenge with the hour-long dribble. It took everything out of me and it was only an hour. I can’t see myself jumping back into it unless someone snatches the one I’ve got and I try to pull it back from them.
I always love it when people try to dethrone me. It’s fun to snag it back. It produces good content for me, as well.
“If you could invent a new category or spark more interest in an existing one, what would you choose?”
Mizu: I was actually talking about this the other day.
What I’d really like to implement are no-cuts 100% completion categories. I think it’d be the right push to get more of the Rocket League community invested.
Like if you look up “The Floor is Lava” dribbling map, dude just air dribbles sideways across the level. He skips the meat of the map. It saves a lot of time, but it’s not really how the map was designed to be played.
“Right. And Rocket League workshops aren’t built by big dev studios or anything. They’re easy to exploit.”
Mizu: Yeah. So I’d really enjoy an honest 100% completion without cutting every level. It’s not too hard to air dribble across. I could do it, you could do it.
I already prefer 100% completion categories. They take a lot more skill. You’re playing it as intended. It’s a more compelling race. And it does a better job of showcasing the peak of human potential. Right?
“Yeah. Then the whole point of improving with workshop maps isn’t lost in translation.”
Mizu: But some people just enjoy breaking things, and I totally respect that, too. I’ve got a great tutorial on air dribbling that should come in handy for aspiring any% speedrunners.
Even if you’re not, there’s always the Air Dribble Gauntlet. There’s some big gaps to clear in Eversax. Things like that.
“Any closers before I let you go?”
Mizu: Sure. Honestly, I hope someone comes and dethrones me. I’ll hit more records in the future, and I love the challenge. It gives me something new to go for. You’ll see what I mean when you climb the charts yourself!
“It was good having you! Your content is awesome. Your tutorials are succinct. Your 1’s streams are full of helpful commentary. You’ve got serious skills! I can tell your heart is really invested. Keep doing what you love, and I’m sure success will continue to follow you!”
Up next: My interview with Rocket Sledge and Frowzy Squirrel!