Cover Photot: Text reads - Rocket League Freestyling 101. Top Freestylers. Best Orgs. Setup guide. Photos: Evample freestyling in Lambo, OSM in Octane with unpainted Zombas, and a Dominus styling in Urban Central.

The Rocket League Freestylers Handbook

It’s wild to think about, but Rocket League freestyling absorbs the brunt end of a fiery vengeance these days. 

I mean…

At what point did we, as a community, collectively decide to hate watching players blossom skills rivaling the grace of an Olympic diver?

It’s a simple answer, really. There’s no definitive code of conduct.

Meme Text: GC smurf "Have you ever seen a flip reset?" Silver Player Says No GC smurf asks: "Would you like to?" with smug look on his face

Players who rose into the scene in 2017 (or later) harbor resentment toward freestyling smurfs. You know, the ones who drop their ranks and flex new players out of the game. They convinced us we needed to learn flashy mechanics to pull into ranks like… Gold 2. 

In the end, we discovered the truth. But we felt like we flushed our early training hours down a nauseating, grotesque back-alley toilet.

Rake meme: Over commit, get scored on. Off ceiling musty flick, air dribble catch, flip reset, double touch... Over commit, get scored on.
Still fun, though. That's what's important.

But those hours weren’t wasted. We expanded our horizons. Adding a little flair to the occasional shot makes you trickier to predict. Competitive Rocket League freestyling is as cool as ever. It’s a rewarding end-game goal. 

Even watching a few clips from the top freestylers listed here can level up your game. You’ll scurry home to drill valuable training sequences; and, thanks to the playful nature of freestyling, you’ll rekindle some joy you felt during your early days.

Scoring flashy trick shots adds a boon to your longevity here. Trust me. 

Stick it out. Don’t be too harsh on yourself during the arduous road to mastery. Most TikTok influencers and click farmers game the system, setting unrealistic standards. Your wall Musty double tap is still really freakin’ cool, bro. I promise.

And, in the meantime, I’ll hook you up with a list of the most respectable Rocket League freestylers, groups, and orgs to pump your adrenaline.

What is Freestyling?

No Flip redirect from octane in cristianos. Titled "What is freestyling?"

Rocket League freestyling is akin to watching a Harlem Globetrotters game or an NBA dunk competition.

It’s a showcase of raw mechanical power. It’s prime territory for witnessing humanity tiptoe beyond its limitations – soaring above heights that even RL’s development team couldn’t imagine.

Simply put: Rocket League freestyling is an elegant dance of synchronized car soccer. Freestyles fall into three categories: Team Freestyling, Competitive Freestyling, and No-Flips.

The Inspiration Corner:
Watching The Best Freestylers in the World

White Zomba dominus tackles a backboard double tap against unsuspecting defender. Titled: Rocket League's Top Freestylers.

Most freestylers listed formed teams, but I’m omitting their tags to future-proof this article. I learned my lesson after OSM stirred some drama with Pulse.

These boys deserve recognition as individuals, anyway. A handful of them even crash-landed on my Top Rocket League YouTuber list. 

I’ll link everyone’s channel in the drop-down menus below. Enjoy!

RL veterans might remember this man as JHZR. Don’t worry, it’s not the Mandela Effect. He updated his brand. JZR is a retired pro whose name appears on a banner in Champion’s Field. More importantly, he’s the OG freestyler. He’s been amassing beautiful car-ball clips since the SARPBC dinosaur days. And he’s still kicking. It was inevitable he’d patent his own flick. JZR is a legend.

JZR’s Channel

In November of 2015, MK forever shifted the RL scene by introducing Pulse Clan. They didn’t yet know the story they’d unfold. The early days of Pulse emanated the vibes of a ragtag team of friends playing their favorite game together. But, with a little added exposure from JZR, MK birthed a legacy. One that still thrives today. Every RL freestyler worth their salt has matched up with MK and his crew.

MK’s Channel

It’s difficult to emulate Evample’s play style. He’s constantly drifting on the ground all loosey-goosey. Even his fakes involve rotating along two to three different axes. Yet, his game sense allows him to topple SSL lobbies. Evample started playing Rocket League during Season 3. He was the first player to consistently land triple resets. Since then, he’s transformed his style into a full-blown aesthetic.

Evample’s Channel

There’s no doubt in my mind that Maktuf is the best mechanical player in the world. He’s the father of the Maktuf Reset. ‘Nuff said.

Maktuf’s Channel

Have you ever seen a Hexa Heli? Would you like to? What about a filthy Musty-Sidewall redirect? Spyro slaps.

Spyro’s Channel

I never thought I’d see the day a player vibing off triple Heli Resets would successfully go pro. Yet, here we are. Forky signed to PWR and the rest was history. Sure, RLCS pros retire into freestyling seats all the time, but this guy took the opposite approach. He yearned to elevate his stress levels.

Forky’s Channel

This man might boast more signature style than Evample. He pogo’s himself off the ball for high pops. He can hold the ball stationary mid-flight. In unlimited boost matchups, Jakze is nigh unstoppable.

Jakze’s Channel

OSM casually flaunts superhuman capabilities. For starters, he’s been freestyling since he was 12. He can chain turtle setups to pogos with natural boost settings. He single-handedly trips up skilled teams with cross-field Psycho taps. Seriously, where does OSM unsheath such raw power from? These days, OSM’s chasing Forky into the RLCS scene, and we’re all rooting for him. I mean, we practically grew up with OSM.

OSM’s Channel

I can’t list the top freestylers without mentioning the man who ushered in the iconic Muiri Reset. It’s a backflip cancel into another flip reset, and this guy became crazy consistent with it. If boost isn’t a concern, he’s got the Muiri Pop on his side, too. An infinite flip timer from the ground? Muiri, you broke Rocket League! Mad respect.

Muiri’s Channel

Alright, I think everyone’s heard of Breezi by now. He’s invented two household flicks, both of which carry his name on the label: The Breezi Flick and Breezi Pop. Here’s what you might not know: Breezi’s a top-ranked freestyler. He isn’t durdling around in Bronze lobbies where the sky is lava. He’s whipping out methodical Breezi flicks against world-class players. I can’t fathom how he finds the space – but he always does. Gloss his montages. They won’t disappoint.

Breezi’s Channel

Want to see what 7,000+ hours of Rocket League does to a guy? Henkovic started streaming as a New Year’s resolution in 2020 and scooped a spot in Pulse Clan almost overnight. He’s a sensation with a lengthy career ahead of him. I’ll promise you that.

Henkovic’s Channel

This monstrosity could blast pancake resets on repeat from one end of the backboard to the other. He treats the backboard like it’s his personal trampoline. He’s a great team freestyler, too.

Poyos’ Channel

Novel is the guy you see clipping the reverse ceiling shuffles and unhinged Batmobile strings. If you’re hunting for a unique, laid-back montage, Novel doesn’t rush for anything. He’s incapable of feeling stress. He’ll make you question RL’s physics limitations. He’ll inject mechanical inspiration straight into your veins, no doubt.

Novel’s Channel

Stuxi is the best enemy backboard cherry picker I’ve seen. His redirect angles are insane. That alone rates him in the top 10 team freestylers in the world, but he brings so much more to the table.

Stuxi’s Channel

The Sting Pop is probably the dumbest mechanic in Rocket League. You land upside down like a certified bronze – and magically transform it into a mesmerizing second launch. It shouldn’t work. But Sting combos off with it as a competitive freestyler. He’s decimating SSL’s. He peppers his plays with gorgeous air drag catches from underside flip resets. His flip cancels are super clean. He prejumps some of the most difficult reads in the game. Sting delivers.

Sting’s Channel

Here’s a team freestyler who utilizes awesome mid-air bumps from teammates. He’s equipped with a nasty arsenal of ceiling redirects. He’s perfected the Evample-dash flick. I’ve seen him demo in reverse. And, to top it all off, Kusch is a double tap mastermind. 

Kusch’s Channel

I’m not sure I’ve ever caught a freestyler chain so many ground pinches in a single shot. Moisty ricochet’s the ball across the field like he’s playing psycho pinball with a 4-wheeled paddle. I’m here for it.

Moisty’s Channel

Sometimes I wonder if Ganer is the offspring of a cyborg. His inputs are always precise. He’s probably never made a mistake in his life. Ganer is the current world record holder for longest consecutive flip reset chain. He’s robotic, yet it’s so… enchanting.

Ganer’s Channel

While this man can chain Mustys into flip resets for days in freeplay, I want to highlight his ground game. Mesko plays in top-level lobbies, often taking advantage of his space to string half flips and reverse driving tech in his plays. He’ll whip up a few 180 death cancels before launching into the sky with a picture perfect air drag. Beautiful.

Mesko’s Channel

There’s a reason we call a smooth air roll a “Kuxir Twist” and we call gnarly pinches from the back half of the stadium “Kuxir Pinches.” Kuxir97 never retreated from the experimentation grounds. He knew how to Musty Flick before Musty. He could air dribble fresh out the gate. And he accomplished these things on live streams, in the professional RLCS circuit. He influenced players by the millions. So, despite how much the game evolves, Kuxir shall forever remain on top RL freestyler lists until the end of time. Without him, we probably wouldn’t have a freestyling scene to begin with.

Kuxir’s Channel

If that isn’t enough to whet your appetite, RLFX and Striped do a magnificent job of highlighting freestylers in the community, too. The former focuses on clips and the latter does interviews and game show style content. 

Finding Organized Rocket League Freestyling Teams:

Top RL Freestyling Orgs - Logo Collage featuring Nixus, Pulse Clan, Nytro, Resonant, and Zephyr.

Maybe you want to scout out your own freestylers or try your hand at joining a crew. Here’s a list of RL Freestyling teams you can browse.

If you think you have what it takes, simply apply. They get tons of applicants. I recommend hiring a video editor for montage submissions. If that’s out of your budget, you can always try pulling some clout on the RLFS discord channel.

Mechanics Every Freestyler Should Master:

Evample dribbling backward in white Octane with signature Black Infinium wheels. Titled: "Top Mechanics Every Freestyler Should Master."

(In exactly this order.)

Directional Air Roll:

Aircraft Principle Axes Infographic. Here's the roll, pitch, and yaw axes visualized.

More specifically, you’ll want to master the Kuxir Twist. That’s where the corner edge of your car becomes the rotation axis for your spins. You can easily Kuxir Twist by:

1) Turning 45 degrees pre-launch.

2) Tilting straight back after jumping.

3) Learning to Tornado Spin. That’s Pulling your analog stick in the opposite direction of your directional air roll. 

4) Note that mastering the micro-adjustments related to Tornado Spins yields more overall car control. Top-level RL freestylers rarely use static analog inputs in mid-air.

Boost Management:

purple fennec, pink yorebands decal, unpainted apex wheels, synthwave boost. Strong 80s aesthetic. Very colorful rocket league preset!

There’s nothing lamer than that guy who insists he can beat you in a 1v1 exclusively with infinite boost. Pretty shots lose their value when their execution devours 3,000 boost. Luckily, I’ve prepared a few tips to give your freestyles some added potency:

    • Feathered boost inputs keep plays close and controlled.
    • Mid-field wall shots guarantee a full boost reservoir.
    • Using upward momentum from the wall dices about 60% of your boost usage.
    • In Rocket League, flips and stalls shatter the effects of gravity on your car until they resolve.
    • Wavedashes can help clock extra speed into your setup without wasting boost.

Air Dribbles:

Aerial ball control is the core skill that glues your chains together. Plus, wall-to-air dribbles push your opponents onto their backboard. That buys you valuable field space. Here’s my air dribbling guide.

Ceiling Shots:

Dual white Dominus friends perform an aerial team Pinch from their backboard.

A solid grasp on ceiling shot physics lays the groundwork for consistent infinite flip timers. But a good freestyler glues themself to the ball. You aren’t aiming for any old ceiling shot. You want a clean spiral leap from the wall with a straight landing. I’ll shed a few tips for consistent wall launches.

    • Always launch with your nose facing upward.
    • Boost early. The sooner you pull your upward momentum, the more time you’ll have to add flair to the shot.
    • Give the ball a little love tap on your way up to the ceiling. It adds consistency.
    • Stick every landing with 3 or 4 wheels. Powerslide liberally.

Backboard Reads and Redirects:

SK esports decal for octane with tw looper wheels and tw glitch boost.

Double taps separate the competitive freestylers from the Diamond hotheads. Good backboard reads paired with tight angling mop the floor against the most clever opponents in Rocket League. 

If you want your shots to have a serious impact on the game, string in double and triple taps. Otherwise, you’ll end up watching dozens of replay clips where you eat a dunk and surrender a point. Any half-decent Plat can stuff a low-hanging air dribble. Keep that ball elevated, and when the moment is right, spike that ball straight into the goal.

Here’s a guide for better wall reads in RL.

Flip Resets:

Pixel perfect flip reset redirect.

Flip Resets are the final frontier for an aspiring Rocket League freestyler. They’ll open up the most opportunities and guarantee you can launch the ball around at high velocities. The most important flip reset to learn is the Rapid Reset. These are the barrel rolls you see between multiple reset trains. Pancake Resets are handy for salvaging plays where you’re inching up too closely on the backboard. And Heli Resets look the cleanest once you master your aerial car control.

Garnishes:

Saffron Dune Racer decal in Salty Shores stadium. Dribbler performs a 180 wavedash cancel in mid chain before prepping up a wall musty.

Once you’ve laid a solid foundation, it’s time to get creative. Sprinkle in some Pogos. Try turtling. Clean up your Kuxir and Ground Pinches. Slap Musty and Breezi flicks like they’re Frank’s Red Hot Sauce. 

A good ceiling shuffle and stall won’t hurt, either.

Top Freestyling Training Packs:

Freestyling Training Codes. Image features Rocket League T-Rex goal explosion from Jurrasic Park collab.

I’ll list some community-made training packs that anyone can access. These packs are specially made to stitch together freestyling mechanics through hard repetition.

To access custom training packs:

  • Open RL
  • Click “Play”
  • Click “Training”
  • Tab over to “Custom Training Packs”
  • Click the prompt to enter a code. On a PS controller, it’s square. On an Xbox controller, it’s X.
  • Type in the following codes using all caps and including the dashes.

Now for the training codes:

  • Freestyle Training Pack: 6614-D9A2-8D61-D6BC (13 Shots)
  • Ultimate Freestyle Pack: 3085-894F-E46C-D7E1 (50 Shots)
  • Freestyles: 53BD-4CDF-CC23-F2CE (10 Shots)
  • Pramez Freestyle Pack #3: 9FE2-25F8-DCF7-6115
  • Pramez Freestyle Pack #4: 182A-67FB-945C-A390
  • Pramez Freestyle Pack #5: 6E66-1E2C-3C7D-F948

If you’re on PC, you can also check out some workshop maps. They’re tailored for testing the limits of your ball and car control.

Finding Freestyling Teammates:

Titled "Finding Teammates." JZR performs a No Flip Kuxir Pinch pass for his teammates in Neo Tokyo stadium with his Skyline.

I’ll link tools for tracking down freestyling buddies. People you’ll get to brew team plays and friendly competitions with.

Discord:

Reddit: 

Steam:

 

Setting Up Freestyle Tournaments:

Titled, "Setting up tournaments." Dominus prepares a 45 degree flick on defender in Salty Shores.
  • Show good freestyling etiquette. You want to be a figure that inspires players to continue their grind. Not someone who shrinks the community. 

    Freestyle responsibly! Smurfing will end your RL career. New accounts earn the benefit of the doubt, but once you’re caught purposely throwing ranked matches, you’ll be suffocating beneath a massive ban hammer. 

    In private matches, the freestyling community often speculates you’re abusing mutators, namely slow-mo, altered physics, and infinite boost. 

    And, to worsen matters, we now live in a world where Tool Assisted Software (TAS) can leverage the RL engine one frame at a time.

    So what do I recommend? 

Casual Online Lobbies:

  • Find some freestyling friends and hop into matches with them. 
  • Disable cross-platform play so opponents can see your chat.
  • Kindly inform opponents that you’re planning to freestyle. Tell them they’re welcome to join in or play however they please. Be polite. Tell them you hope they’ll have fun.
  • If a player accepts a freestyle 1v1, understand that each player gets one shot attempt before passing their turn. If you hog the ball, nothing’s stopping your opponent from blasting demos and pulling open nets. Many FS 1v1 players opt to tie the scoreboard to initiate overtime. If you’re down, roll the ball slowly at their net to see if they’ll accept the OT proposal.
  • You’ll be surprised how many players start offering space and take turns firing off shots with you. Don’t ridicule their attempts. Applaud them for their courage. You’ll collect more clips by being an enjoyable human being.
White octane with Karmine Corp eSports decal and TW infinium.

If you don’t mind keyboard warriors coming at your private match clips, you’ve got options for more engaging game modes. Like tournaments and show matches with friends.

Playing Horse:

A game of H.O.R.S.E. Over comms could become one of your fondest RL memories. Here’s the best way to get started:

  • Start a party and open up a private match with the “Unlimited Timer” mutator active. Take a vote on any other desired mutators.
  • Vote on whether you’ll count shots that bounce, whether shots need to be called out before attempted, velocity restrictions, or any other “house rules” that come to mind.
  • Take turns attempting shots.
  • When someone lands a shot, you’ll need to replicate it. 
  • When a player fails to replicate a shot, they take a letter.
  • When a player has enough letters to spell out ‘Horse,’ they lose.
  • Repeat.
Crimson octane with xset esports decal and crimson aero mage wheels.

Air Dribble Melee:

If you’re playing on PC, you can fire up a custom workshop map designed for firing off air dribbles. Players take turns defending from defensive spawns.

The map is called “Air Dribble Melee” by TJBrother.

RL Freestyle Camera Settings:

Freestylers often stray from traditional camera settings. Sometimes they’ll hike their camera up so high you can’t even see the back of their car. Generally, the community agrees that these camera settings make freestyling in Rocket League easiest:

  • Field of View: 100 to 110
  • Distance: 250
  • Height: 100 to 110
  • Angle: -4 to -7
  • Stiffness: 0.4
  • Swivel Speed: 1.3
  • Transition Speed: 1.3

Note that we’re aiming to keep the camera as close to the ball as possible without losing any competitive edge. Many pro players use different settings. That’s because they aren’t aiming to hit nasty shots, they’re vigilantly eyeballing skilled opponents.

While we’re toggling in menus, I’ll link a data dump on popular RL video and control settings.

Challenging The Rocket League Freestyling Bot:

RL Freestyling Bot stallion scores a 57 KPH flip reset double tap.

I’ll sign off with a little easter egg. Did you know somebody programmed a Rocket League freestyling bot for you to challenge in private matches?

He can do just about anything with picture-perfect precision, and he’ll understand command prompts.

The RL freestyle bot is named Stallion. It was programmed by VirxEC. If you’d like to see Stallion in action, Sledge created a video pitting the bot against Retals in a game of Horse.

Happy clip hunting!