Meet the Champion Player that Only Goes BACKWARDS in Rocket League

This is the story of the mysterious Champ ranked Rocket League player who has mastered the art of playing completely backwards! Meet Backwardio, whose unique playstyle has recently caught the attention of the Rocket League Community. Listen as he explains the tale behind his backwards-driving climb through the ranks and watch some crazy Rocket League highlights from his journey, all done BACKWARDS!
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#rocketleague #backwardio #challenge

[@BackWardio]

Was good talking with you Sledge! If anyone wants to watch me live, I stream at www.twitch.tv/backwardio

[@FoxenColt]

This is dope NGL 😂

[@EngineerRLgg]

Siiiiiiiiick!! Well done. Backwards demo is legit!

[@TwinkleTutsies]

that is the craziest shit i've seen in this game for a long time

[@Cyroid_1]

yo

[@keptt2]

it's weird but impressive

[@austinmeyers-c4n]

watching the ball go in your net in overtime to some clown driving around backwards has got to be the most tilting thing on the planet

[@BackWardio]

I'm not some clown. I'm THE clown.

[@wkeywz]

@@BackWardio mentality.

[@The-Perth-Vlogger-TPV]

Bro I was watching the opponents a few times and holy they’re horrible. Don’t get me wrong this guy is insane at the game playing backwards but if the other teams had at least a brain combined the probably could’ve won more.

[@austinmeyers-c4n]

@@BackWardio no hate btw 😅 just saying what would happen if i lost to you. what you're doing is crazy impressive

[@xZeroGrxvity]

​@@BackWardio Why don't you boost while backflipping?

[@SALEENS7GTR5]

The fact he is a champ player while actively putting himself at a disadvantage with few aerials and less boost speed, shows how smart and skilled of a player he is, and how he can adapt to play. Many could learn from Backwardio's mentality.

[@BackWardio]

Aw thanks for the nice words

[@sike9703]

​@@BackWardio Awesome profile picture

[@timash6308]

The fact he is a champ player while only playing backwards shows he is an utter mental 😂

[@thomasengles1659]

Imagine how skilled he is driving forward

[@SickAFClipsDaily]

it also shows how dumb champs are by not using 5 minutes or the field to win, they just gun it for touches

[@FrowzySquirrel]

I bet this guy loves reverse sweeps.

[@17ThedarkLord]

😂

[@nineveh17]

made me chuckle cant lie

[@FaalconRL]

You KNOW this guy is a dad

[@hhaste]

NOW ME ANGRY

[@GoatsandLions]

Hahahahah😭😭😭😭😭

[@SunlessKhan]

Excellent video man. You always find interesting stories in the community that I would have completely overlooked.

[@Rocket_Sledge]

Thank you Sunless!

[@Fqllen0ut]

I'm 3500+ hours and Champ 1 and never used air-roll lmao, (I play keyboard and mouse)

[@wingman4117]

I played with this guy…absolutely insane, we won 5-4. Craziest game of my life

[@SyrupyBeard]

played with him 2 weeks ago and thought he was trying to derank at first, but we won like 5-3 in the end lol

[@AxelBS488]

I played against him in a 1v1, lost 4 to 7, he is plat 1 when I played him

[@TherapyGel]

Same here. Same score too. The guy was just nuts. I couldnt believe it.

[@subbrn]

Hes just using reverse psychology

[@BackWardio]

😂

[@sylviejunkie]

@@BackWardio yoooo backwardio himself!!! i hope you had a great thanksgiving man if you celebrate it and have a good day :)

[@BackWardio]

@@sylviejunkie I had my Canadian Thanksgiving a month ago. Was great!

[@Keenadian]

I knew it from the accent!

[@subbrn]

@@BackWardio W

[@marcxb1953]

I've never been a fan of naming mechanics with people's name, forvvarious reasons, but the backward demo, even if accidental, is pretty amazing. Backwardio-demo would be fitted

[@Rocket_Sledge]

Aww so calling it the "backwards Sledge" is off the table? 😂

[@BackWardio]

Heck yeah. Everytime anything happens backwards in my friends private match, everyone yells backwardio.

[@Csfuser]

@@Rocket_Sledge call it a Slackwards Bedge and you got a deal.

[@Baccory]

I think you mean Backwarde-emo (pronounced dee-emmo, not emo like the music genre)

[@Rocket_Sledge]

@Baccory yes! 😄

[@fisc_rl]

In early 2017 I queued into a casual game against someone who's name was "I only drive backwards" who did this the entire game. As I had only been playing for a few months at that time, I was insanely impressed and still think about it to this day. People do some crazy stuff.

[@witheringhs7766]

exactly... this isnt even a new idea... a dev noodle beard came to my chat to ask me why i smurf, he made a new account with me and we played for 1-2 hours driving backwards only and we placed plat. this was like mid 2016 or 2017

[@Shivaxi]

Dude I ran into this guy like 3 weeks ago and was telling Leth about em. I thought it was another KZbinr undercover doing a challenge xD so funny, guy was legit great playing backwards, was super impressive.

[@nam-dm1ut]

What the hell Shivaxi hellllo!

[@jordanreedy3809]

I swear to god this guy is on my friends list. Played with him a few weeks ago and hes so chill. Playing with him is hilarious, and his positioning and 50s are way too good.

[@EngineerRLgg]

@@jordanreedy3809 yoooooooooo! BackWardio is cool af.

[@Rocket_Sledge]

Pretty sure he has the advantage in 50s as hitboxes slope toward the front.

[@redd_rl]

imagine seeing this guy on kickoff

[@martah93]

Judging someone by their playstyle in 2024 is really backwards tbh I'll show myself out

[@ItsTheLedge]

I used to do this back in the day with my low rank friends too. Never in my life did I ever think it was a good idea to take it to ranked. Backwardio you are a madman and have my respect.

[@BackWardio]

Not sure if it's a good idea or not, but I have fun.

[@N8ive49er]

@@BackWardio Well fun ideas usually beat out good/bad ideas anyway lol

[@ApparentlyJackRL]

LOL this is awesome

[@BackWardio]

Big fan I watch all of your 1v1 videos!!❤❤

[@EngineerRLgg]

Backwards 1v1 against BackWardio!?!?

[@SalvationRL]

Dude you guys should do something together, that would be awesome to see!

[@papales6043]

Set it up mr apple jack​@@EngineerRLgg

[@EngineerRLgg]

@@papales6043 👆🏼this guy gets it! Come on Jack 💪🏽🫡🙏🏼

[@Woodyyyy]

7:15 okay new challenge unlocked lol that's amazing

[@marriedtwogaming]

I honestly can’t wait to try this

[@Glaxothecringe]

me you and Bumpo, demo bingo. bring it :P

[@noahcristi8801]

I was about to comment why wasn’t woody apart of the boom squad

[@Woodyyyy]

@@noahcristi8801 just wasn't there for that conversation haha I think everyone that was featured has more demos than me anyways 😆

[@noahcristi8801]

@ I started demos because of your videos XD I think my record spawn demos was 7. Then rocket league decided to spawn him on the same side

[@killaknight12]

My brain was expecting a halfflip everytime he got a good opportunity, but it never happens. 😂

[@Rocket_Sledge]

HE CHOOSES NOT TO!

[@killaknight12]

@@Rocket_Sledge yeah, getting rid of that muscle memory is probably the hardest part.

[@BackWardio]

100% took a few hours to stop myself

[@thaddeus1519]

I think it's really great and tasteful the way you are still bringing us content but promoting your content. Lots of youtubers could learn from this strategy.

[@Rocket_Sledge]

Thank you!

[@RR-hl6zi]

I don't think you're referring to SpookLuke, so I will do it for you. No worries.

[@rosegoldberg2469]

I ACTUALLY JUST PLAYED THIS GUY. I had no idea how he kept scoring and getting back so quickly

[@BlueRaja]

I also have a backwards-only account, which I use to play with lower-ranked friends (I'm GC normally). I've only made it to high-plat on that account, but I also _never_ use boost, even in the air. It's frustratingly uncommon for the opponents to even notice I'm driving backwards.

[@420RittzBish]

I'm the backwards man, the backwards man. I can walk backwards faster than you can.

[@EngineerRLgg]

Hahahah😂 good one!

[@Jzzonem]

You have won the treasure from that underwater cave daddy!

[@ClassicMiddleton]

Daddy would you like some sausages?

[@bobbywalker2980]

Dude , this guy was so kind . Id love to play with him.

[@BackWardio]

I'm not always so kind. Nobody is perfect lol

[@_melts]

Stuff like this proves that getting to champ and even GC requires very few mechanics. Positioning is much more important and the all the time plats and diamonds spend learning to flip reset would be better spent on defense skills.

[@BackWardio]

Very true, though all the mechanics do help in the long run. I wish people would learn defense first though...

[@Rogerthedodger86]

As someone who just got GC last season (but got stuck at c3 this time around...) I absolutely agree that I need to learn basics like open nets because who cares if I can score a sidewall read in a 1v1 when it'll almost never be fast enough to go in when there's an extra defender, and yes I'd pretty much say there's no open net I can't miss.

[@trust.ishuOFFICIAL]

i played with backwardio a month or two ago in a d2 game, absolute legend. awesome to see so many people experiencing this madman

[@Will-on4om]

Sounds like a dream teammate. More boost for me, he passes, good positioning.

[@LZYDOG]

I love how committed to chaos a lot of RL players are. Respect this guy and praying for his wins.

[@LivelyLou]

He's not the only one. I've been seeing more like this guy in various random queues.

[@kennykenny976]

I watched my friends beat this dude in a tournament. His teammate was a bit lower ranked so it wasnt a fair fight but we were kinda freaking out at how good this guy was

[@Hashmusical]

This is real. I've played with him in champ at random. We queue up sometimes now while he plays backwards and we still win 🤣

[@detalores]

I’ve always wondered what rocket league would be like if you had forward and backwards boosters would be like. Make an insanely high ceiling game even higher. Backwardio is prepping for this mode.

[@agentallstar7]

I played against the backwards 2 before and we won but it was really close and me and my friend was in shock of how good they were playing like that.easily the most memorable team I’ve played against.

[@briansauers9207]

I'll always remember I was playing 3's, and this guy (not backwardio) was driving around backwards and slowly but surely everyone in the lobby followed suite and we all played a 3's match backwards on both teams, it was great!

[@BackWardio]

I have experienced that before as well. It's nice because then I have a huge advantage!

[@briansauers9207]

@@BackWardio The legend himself!

[@witheringhs7766]

thats because this idea is not even close to original.

[@briansauers9207]

@witheringhs7766 very cynical of you I guess?

[@witheringhs7766]

@@briansauers9207 cynical? the guys trying to milk clout for something even kronovi's already done.

[@I_gnatz_93]

The fact that he's better than me and most of my friends while backwards is amazing 😂

[@SimplyTiffany2009]

ive played against someone like 2 years ago. we were both in diamond 2 and and his user was backwards to champ or something like that, he was really good he uses the ford f150 truck

[@vaporizejello]

glad this vid hit my algo. Dopeeee

[@rynojammin9511]

Used to play a lot in 2016 and my signature move was to play backwards. I always found it to have a lot more control which I always thought was odd. I would normally only bring it out in ranked if we were winning but it would definitely demoralize the other team.

[@0002pA]

This is one of the most interesting RL videos I've seen in years. What a fun idea!

[@Seano23]

Got into a casual duel series with someone named something like”only backwards pls” and played one normal then started playing backwards against him and it was pretty fun

[@Brandtphenom]

I have been encouraging people to lighten up and play backwards…it adds a new element and teachers you how to adapt to different plays

[@hazbojangles2681]

The "Doomsee Dish" brought back memories. Have tried to reference it ingame but no one ever gets it

[@MikeJ122o]

Love his ideas of playing games differently. Bravo

[@GhostSenseiProductions]

This reminds me of that scene of Rock Lee when he takes all that weight off his legs. Imagine when this guy starts playing forwards again

[@mrmacneil]

I played with this guy like 2 months ago. Thought we were cooked but ended up flabbergasted when we won.

[@se6619]

Backwardio seems like a nice dude. Well spoken and honest

[@Randomgghhjjf]

I’ve played with the sky randomly in D3 absolute beast so good at passing took me over half the game to realize he was just driving backwards

[@jeancasevenrl]

Lovely interview Master RS!. Highly appreciated more non-standard players vids ♥

[@Rocket_Sledge]

Thank you!

[@ZeeJayBay]

Would love to be even half as brilliant as it takes to pull off this play style. Insane.

[@BackWardio]

I'm just a stupid truck driver man. All it takes is practice!😂

[@AutoCarzzz]

Them spamming what a save when they score 😭🙏 5:57

[@SyLens1]

This is some runescape type of dedication to play backwards

[@gocu_san]

i love this guys car design, literally my favorite colors

[@wrighteousj]

Sledge bringing back RL content to a golden age 😭🫡

[@Rocket_Sledge]

Thank you Jordan!

[@Flare_Tc]

Rocketsledge is honeslty my favorite rl creator beacsue the content he make is so interesting, and i get to see the othersidr of rocketleague

[@DrJ4Y]

BackWardio, the hero we never knew we needed

[@deking1932]

I’ve encountered this guy but as his tm8. I’m actually in this video as “BrandonRey2002”. Didn’t notice he was backwards til he scored 😭

[@twieg]

Around 2020 me and my duo play against someone name "IDriveBackward" I still remember how cool it was seeing it live

[@jimjim7555]

I quite often play 1v1 backwards. Very occasionally the opponent joins in and we have a good match. Surprised it's not more of a thing tbh. It does confer certain advantages - the opposition are used to people boosting into things all the time, it changes the dynamic and can work in your favour. I used to be so good at Gran Turismo on the PS1 I used to beat friends driving backwards.

[@BumpoTheClown]

Legend. I can appreciate the dedication!

[@BackWardio]

Same to you!

[@Whyley666]

My brother and I, when we first starting playing, would do this. Once we got 2 goals ahead of our opponents we decided to "even the playing field" by going backwards

[@breakdown2878]

I’m actually glad his friend was “backwaluigi”. Cause my first thought was wario when I heard the name. Appreciate the small things

[@Rubiirl.]

i was waiting to see him backwards wavedash through rotation 😂

[@ghbeast70]

I like this guy, I went with doing only 1v2 matches myself though I've only made it to diamond 2 so far! I'm impressed he made it all the way to champ, I'm definitely going to have to double down on my efforts!

[@Slam-szn]

I mean he’s using both sides of his brain with this one. This is insane😂

[@ZachofPotatoes732]

This is how I play most online games. Winning is cool, but winning with a goofy disadvantage is the most fun especially against people who take the game too seriously. It is just a game..

[@groffulon2092]

Yo Sledge! I’m also a big strange story/fact enjoyer. Immediate sub from me. Always thought your yt vibe was on point. Great to see you growing beyond RL! Wishing you all the best and every success for your new channel! ❤

[@Rocket_Sledge]

Thanks for the sub!

[@JoelTGM]

Some of his saves are insane I would be helpless in that position

[@BackWardio]

Defense is important. Practice it!

[@JoelTGM]

🙏​@@BackWardio

[@gamerandcontroller9129]

og Fluump encountered the original backwards champ 2 years ago. Backwardio is a mere disciple

[@Rocket_Sledge]

I've seen a few stories over the years of people playing backwards, but never concrete proof that they actually ranked up to that point only playing backwards. Id like to see the Fluump example, was there a video?

[@gamerandcontroller9129]

@ I’ll try to find it and link it. It was so long ago

[@cparch1758]

I fear not the man who has used boost 10,000 times. I fear the man who has used boost once.

[@pietpaco4065]

I played a guy trying that too. I wonder id it was him or just another guy also trying. He dffintly carryed some of my games! Enjoyed that session alot

[@yo_atee]

Great vid! Anyone else hoping for a Backwardio/ Backwaluigi reunion??

[@BackWardio]

He installed the epic games launcher last night for another round of backwards games.

[@BackWaluigi]

I sure am!

[@yo_atee]

@@BackWaluigi ❤️🥲

[@mikeiavelli]

Would you try 3s.... But what would be an appropriate name for that other player then....🤔

[@yo_atee]

@ I’ve been thinking about this a lot longer than I should have. Does it have to be Mario themed? Or can it be simple, like Reversio?

[@Inimical_imi]

Backwardio is my homie all around good dude love to see him doing this and imagine the surprise when he revealed himself to me haha.

[@BackWardio]

@@Inimical_imi that sounded dirty ;)

[@Inimical_imi]

@@BackWardio maybe slightly lol

[@Icyflow]

I’d love to have this guy on my team. The sheer level of commitment to the bit would make my night

[@camerondiaz2666]

Dude i played with this guy he’s a legend and even have a clip to prove it we played last season this dude is insane making crazy plays we even won our game complete legend dude i would 100% play with this dude again id make him my exclusive 2s partner man hit me up man ill play with you all day that game was insane men it took me forever to realize you were playing backwards we got to play again

[@Zens_there]

Dude I think I played against this guy like a year ago cause I have this vivid memory of the time a guy in rocket league was driving backwards and my friend was defending and he hit a nasty juke on him while going backwards and my friend threw his controller at his xbox shattering both lol

[@TylerWilson2004]

Once you think you've seen it all in this game you find something like this

[@michaelmiller4877]

I feel like this video actually highlights a glaring weakness in a lot of player’s gameplay - controlling their car backwards. Even at GC2-3 I am not competent in the slightest at controlling my car backwards… but what if I was? How many situations would I benefit from challenging backwards, taking a shot backwards, etc? I think playing forwards, but being very competent backwards, might be a very useful skill to train; at least for hours invested to the payoff one would get from it. I’m going to make a striker training pack later today and post it here.

[@SALEENS7GTR5]

Many will just say "do a half-flip", but there will be situations where that would be a longer recovery than just have proficiency in backwards control. Cool to think about.

[@BackWardio]

Every once in a while I make a save backwards while playing forwardio, makes me appreciate all the time I've wasted.

[@lumpygrumpgaming1217]

This made my day! As soon as I saw his name in the video I remembered when I played against him. I didn't notice his name or backwards driving until halfway through the game. As soon as I realized, I laughed and called my son over to show him that the guy on the other team was only driving backwards and his name. I remember saying "if he wins I can't even be mad because that takes ridiculous skill". After watching this video I went and checked, and sure enough, I have the replay saved. It's entitled "Backwardio LOL". 😂

[@hoax_gamer]

Love it backwardio, that would be a good challenge to 1v1 you, I never use ball cam and peaked at c2div2

[@snakerman2612]

“I just chose not to” 🤣 Fucking legend

[@adamhippo-rocketleague4761]

I remember in the early days of rocket league, Pungence had a video where someone in his lobby also played backwards only

[@J72_PRO]

I appreciate you making me feel even worse at car soccer than I already do.

[@weebrahim]

What a madlad, I wanna go and try this with friends, gonna unbind accelerate on controller for it

[@kmanz60]

this has got to be some of the weirdest shit to someone that doesn't follow rocket league, i was cracking up. dude is def a legend

[@mendelson6052]

I’ve never played the game and this was a bit mesmerizing and inspirational.

[@SirPigasus]

That is actually insane. No excuses for anyone now 😢

[@jackinetic8023]

Im like him for 30% of the time especially when going to the ball the enemy team, since i can just boost back to my side if i need to instead of having to take time to turn around

[@Ovalite]

I played this dude a while back and he’s insane

a while back uh

[@Ovalite]

Yeah I was on his team, I was so confused, we ended up losing tho

[@BackWardio]

​@@Ovalitemaybe next time we can get the win

[@Ovalite]

@@BackWardio sadly I have ascended into C2 goat😔

[@Captain_Samerica]

Backwardio and Woody would be a legendary team comp

[@FOWST]

I've quit that game, but I get this guy. I played mordhau with only fists, played counter strike with only shotguns and in a few other games I also prefer to make it harder for myself and do something goofy.

[@nodiline4961]

People need to bring back the use of the term Doomsee dish, I used to get so excited after hitting one.

[@TheStrangeCollective]

I thought I was the only rocket league player with rod monochromacy tbh, I had no idea other people play in B&W

[@ThePoetRobin]

Imagine what he could do... Driving forward... It's only a fraction of his power.

[@vidcoball20]

Did stuff like this for awhile but others halloween inflatable egos blow up like crazy when you get scored on while playing with a disadvantage.

[@matthew_1-1]

WAKE UP! ROCKET SLEDGE UPLOADED!!!

[@Popotato7777]

This what games are for, nice

[@BackWardio]

That spirit is lost in competitive unfortunately. I realise people are trying to climb, but can't we still have some fun?

[@NotSkander]

i used to play a lot of backwards with my duos partner whenever we were 2+ up. but that was 2015 and in like gold so it has to be much harder now

[@john.....]

The rocket league content creator to history creator pipeline is insane

[@Rocket_Sledge]

Natural transition for those of us that have spent years doing researched and scripted content in RL.

[@Trazior]

about the half flip you can do an reverse half flip you can flip forward and it would work in that situation

[@Mateo6r]

Reverse half flip actually has a use for this guy

[@JoswaldEdwardo]

6:59 that was not scuffed that was clean

[@Rocket_Sledge]

Full disclosure, during recording he had a lot more scuffed version of the shot. Later he sent me a better one that i used instead.

[@coopaw]

I PLAY BACKWARDS TOO!! i generally find it easier to drive backwards then fowards

[@SwoopieShark]

OMG!