Psyonix Games is a name you might not have heard of before the release of Rocket League, though its a near certainty that youve played one of the games theyve worked on. With contributions to titles like Gears of War and Unreal Tournament 4, they are no strangers to the ups and downs of game development.While Psyonix may have been well versed in creating games, they were unceremoniously thrown into esports when a derivative to their multiplayer game Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket Powered Battle Cars (SARPBC) took off in a big way. Rocket League, released on July 7, 2015, has been a hit from the start, reaching 20 million unique players in a little over a year. Its thriving competitive scene began back in its beta with former SARPBC players, and one of the earliest challenges Psyonix faced with Rocket League was building a team to work on the games development as well as supporting the burgeoning esports scene.Although the ever-expanding Rocket League player base is huge and fuels growing events like the Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS), the incredible numbers arent the whole story behind the games success. Luke Thompson, one of the two esports and event managers at Psyonix, credited the games growth to the community and its sense of family, saying the best part of the phenomenon is how strongly the community has embraced the game and shared it with each other on a global scale. The Rocket League scene is essentially a large, extended family and that was really emphasized during the RLCS Live Finals.Josh Watson, the second of the esports and events managers, added, The growth of the game has exceeded all of our expectations. Wed hoped that Rocket League would do well, but we never imagined that a year later wed have almost 20 million players and still growing. Its really a testament to our players and our community who continue to create a welcoming environment to players new and old. Although it feels like a recent phenomenon, that sense of family had been built from years of SARPBC being a small game on the Playstation Network before transitioning to the breakout success that is Rocket League.The first season of the RLCS in early-mid 2016 wasnt without issue, even to the most basic extent. A major problem came up fast: what kind of tournament website could tolerate 20,000 unique players trying to register and play their matches? The options quickly thinned; an early plan with the site Challonge was scrapped in favor of a custom portal for the RLCS from the site Smash.gg. Yet that was not the only struggle. When you have 1,900 teams playing across two days, you need a lot of people willing to help moderate and resolve disputes. Psyonix reached out to the community to find moderators for this herculean task, again demonstrating its willingness to work together with others in the esports scene to make the game tick. Despite the obstacles, the RLCS was an incredibly beloved event.One of the great successes of Rocket League has been its game balance. Psyonix works closely with both the competitive and casual scene, continuously discussing changes to both cars and maps to make the game feel better on both levels of play. This work came to fruition in the RLCS where casual players could by pure chance run into pro teams they only watch on stream, and yet both teams would be happy with recent changes to the game. The results of Psyonixs work accommodating casual and competitive players became especially apparent when both communities managed to agree on the banning of non-standard maps in the RLCS.The RLCS Season 1 Live Finals peaked with 84,000 concurrent viewers and had over a million unique viewers over the weekend of Aug. 6-7. With a highly successful first event and the backing of Psyonix, the community looks ready to bring the Rocket League esports scene into the mainstream. Although the tournaments achievements were primarily due to Psyonixs efforts, they remained humble. Said Thompson: Thank you! Our games success and the support weve had from our community is something that humbles us (and drives us) on a daily basis. We are where were at because of our amazing fans. We respect and appreciate them greatly.Psyonix may have had trouble focusing on the competitive side in addition to game development initially, but it seems theyve hit their stride in esports. The growth of the esports community has been really positive. Since the release of the game, our community has asked us to take Rocket League esports seriously, and its definitely a major focus moving forward, said Watson.And in case youre wondering about the RLCS in particular, he continued, We designed the RLCS so there was room to grow and the reception to Season 1 was even bigger than wed hoped. We have big goals for the RLCS long-term and were very excited to show our fans and our community what we have in store for next season. Colorado Avalanche Gear . Ivanovic was leading 7-5, 1-0 when Hantuchova withdrew after falling 0-40 behind in the second game. The match started slowly for Ivanovic, who surrendered her first two serves as Hantuchova took a 5-3 lead. Colorado Avalanche Pro Shop . The Islanders dealt Thomas Vanek to the Montreal Canadiens after less than a year on Long Island. 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Even when Monks perimeter shots are falling, he wants to share the ball and encourages teammates to shoot to ensure sure hes not the only one having fun.If defenses play me to pass the ball, Im going to pass it, Monk said Tuesday. Coming to Kentucky, youre surrounded by great players and everybody doesnt have to focus on you. If the defense focuses on you, somebody else can have a great game and that feels great.Still, Monk is the focus of opponents that try to devise ways of containing the sixth-ranked Wildcats leading scorer.The Lepanto, Arkansas native enters Wednesdays 50th Bluegrass showdown at No. 10 Louisville (10-1) averaging a team-best 21.9 points per game for the Wildcats. If he continues at that pace, he could the highest-scoring college player coach John Calipari has ever had. Dajuan Wagner averaged 21.2 for Calipari at Memphis in 2001-02.Right now Monk is basking in a higher profile resulting from his 47-point explosion that helped Kentucky beat then-No. 7 North Carolina 103-100 in Las Vegas on Saturday. His point total set a school freshman record and was the Wildcats best performance since Jodie Meeks scored 54 at Tennessee in January 2009.Monks 18-of-28 shooting effort included eight 3-pointers, the last of which came with 16.7 seconds remaining to put the Wildcats up for good. His clutch jumper came despite Calipari urging him to drive and symbolized confidence the coach wont dare stifle.There are times they have a better feel than I do, Calipari said of his talented roster. You do not have to be perfect, you do not even have to be great. But youve got to play.Monk knows expectations for a follow-up performance will be high as Kentuucky travels 80 miles west for its first true road game.dddddddddddd The Cardinals have lost four in a row in the series.Louisville thrives on its defense and has had success switching defenders in the backcourt. The strategy might suggest slowing down the Wildcats, but coach Rick Pitino said on his radio show Monday night that wont be the plan for his Cardinals.However Louisville, or future opponents, try to defend Kentucky, Monk plan is to contribute wherever he can.I know they will have some kind of defensive trick for me, he said of the Cardinals, but we just have to run through our offense and let the game come to you.Monks AAU coach, Ron Crawford, wouldnt be shocked to see his former player passing the ball or rebounding instead of scoring.He went to Kentucky to not have to carry the load, said Crawford, whose Arkansas Wings program also produced former Wildcat guard Archie Goodwin. Hes consistently getting better on the defensive end and also accepts that hes not going to shoot on every possession.Hes playing with a group where theres no pressure on him and seems to be in more of a comfort zone.Monk is emphatic about improving his rebounding and acknowledges that phase of his game is a work in progress for Kentuckys backcourt. Circumstances have just created more chances on the boards for the frontcourt, allowing the guards to focus on pushing the ball downcourt and finishing.While Monk continues working on rounding out his game, hes savoring how his scoring has helped the Wildcats. Crawford warns of a falloff but knows Monk well enough that a few jumpers could produce another run.Hes proven his ability to score 40, just dont expect it every night, Crawford notes. But when his 3-pointer is on, it changes his game.It certainly has changed things for Kentucky.---More AP College Basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org ' ' '