Rocket League Championship Series

Video game tournament series

Rocket League Championship Series

Genre| Rocket League tournament
Location(s)| Various
Years active| 2016–present
Inaugurated| Season 1 (2016)
Most recent| 2024
Organized by|

* Psyonix (2016–2023)
* Blast ApS (2024–present)

Website| rocketleague.com/competitive
2025 Rocket League Championship Series

The Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS) is an annual Rocket League esports tournament series produced by Blast ApS and endorsed by Psyonix, the game's developer. It consists of two online qualification splits in several regions, with teams earning points towards qualifying for midseason tournaments known as Majors and the Rocket League World Championship, both of which are held as LAN events worldwide.

## History

[edit]

Psyonix had observed the popularity of Rocket League matches on Twitch and other live streaming platforms like YouTube by early 2016 and were looking to use the game more in Esports.[1] In March 2016, Psyonix announced the first Rocket League Championship Series; the finals took place in June 2016 with a US$55,000 prize pool, and was won by iBUYPOWER Cosmic.[2][3] The second season of the championship series took place in December 2016 with a $125,000 prize pool, and was won by FlipSid3 Tactics.[4] A third series began in March 2017, with the $300,000 prize pool finals taking place three months later. In this season, two teams from the oceanic region were also invited to compete.[5]

A second division, the Rocket League Rival Series (RLRS), was added in Season 4. The two teams finishing at the bottom of the RLCS and the two teams finishing at the top of the RLRS for each region play each other in a promotion tournament at the end of the season to determine if teams are promoted or relegated. At the advent of Season 5 in June 2018, Psyonix organised and managed the event alone. Previous to this, they partnered with Twitch. Season 6 started in September 2018 and featured a $1,000,000 prize pool.[6] For Season 7, Psyonix introduced South America as a new region.[7] Season 8 took place in December 2019. The Season 9 championship was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with winners of the regional championships being considered the champions.[8] In July 2020, Psyonix announced a new format for the tenth season of RLCS, known as RLCS X. This format did away with league play and the RLRS in favor of teams earning points through three regional splits, all culminating in three seasonal majors.[9]

The 2021–22 season began in October 2021, bringing in four new regions (Middle East and North Africa, Asia Pacific North, Asia Pacific South, and Sub-Saharan Africa), a more reliable circuit similar to Season X, and a $6 million prize pool. The new circuit consisted of 3 splits, containing 3 regionals and 1 international LAN major each, culminating in a World Championship to finish the season. The season was won by Team BDS.[10]

For the 2022–23 season Asia Pacific North and Asia Pacific South were combined into a single region with point totals being lowered and each regional event being called the Open, Cup and invitational. This season was won by Team Vitality.[11]

Unlike the past two seasons, there was a considerably longer offseason after 2022-23 accompanying the removal of one of the splits, meaning that the 13th season of the RLCS wouldn't begin until January 26, 2024.[12][13] The 2024 season saw the removal of the Open, Cup and Invitational system for each region in favor of three new open qualifying stages, those being a double-elimination qualifying bracket, a Swiss-system tournament featuring the top 16 from open qualifying and a knockout stage featuring the top 8 from the Swiss stage. This open qualifying cycle is repeated three times per split, awarding RLCS points after each stage, before the top teams in RLCS points in each region from those stages advance to that split's Major, which features the Swiss and knockout stages from open qualifying and award additional points. The combined standings decides who advances to the World Championship, which was reduced from 24 to 16 teams in the process using the same format as the Majors.

On January 4, 2024, it was announced that Blast ApS, a tournament organizer known for the Blast Premier circuit in Counter-Strike as well as organizing the esports circuit for Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege, would take over from Psyonix as organizer for the RLCS in 2024, having previously run the Fortnite Champion Series (Previously run by Psyonix's parent company Epic Games) since 2022.[14]

The first major of the RLCS 2024 season was won by Gentlemates Alpine, with the second won by G2 Stride. The season was won by Team BDS. Towards the end of the RLCS 2024 World Championship, it was announced that RLCS would return for the 2025 season in January, with a total prize pool of $5,000,000, the addition of a 1v1 tournament, and changes to the 3v3 tournament which include the addition of a last chance open qualifiers tournament between Major 2 and the World Championship, and expanding the World Championship to 20 teams. [15]

The 2025 season uses 2 Swiss groups, 16 teams in each. Top 8 of each group advance to the GSL stage. 2 groups of 8, 4 advance to the hybrid elimination bracket. This format is used for Opens and the World Championship, but Worlds doesn't use the Swiss groups and uses a GSL bracket for the Play-ins. Before the Swiss groups, there is a double elimination bracket and top 32 qualify for the Swiss groups (24 in Open 2, 3, 5 and 6 as top 8 of the last Open automatically qualify for the Swiss groups). Majors use 1 16 team Swiss stage, in which top 8 qualify for the hybrid elimination bracket. The first major of the season was won by Karmine Corp. The major also debuted the RLCS 1v1 event, which was won by France's Axel "Mawkzy" Timone, defeating Brazil's Yan "yanxnz" Xisto Nolasco 4-3. Mawkzy will compete at the RLCS World Championship at Lyon-Décines in September.[16] The second major is set to be held June 26-29, in Raleigh, North Carolina. [17]

### Seasons

[edit]

Season  | Dates  | Winner  | Finals  | Runner-up  | Location  | Ref.

|
|
|
|
|
|

1  | April – August 2016  | iBUYPOWER Cosmic  |

4–2

| FlipSid3 Tactics | Los Angeles | [18]
2  | October – December 2016  | FlipSid3 Tactics |

4–1, 4–1

| Mock-It eSports EU  | Amsterdam | [19]
3  | April – June 2017  | Northern Gaming  |

4–2, 4–3

| Mock-It eSports EU  | Los Angeles | [20]
4  | September – November 2017  | Gale Force eSports  |

4–0

| Method  | Washington, D.C. | [21]
5  | March – June 2018  | Dignitas |

4–1, 4–3

| NRG Esports | London | [22]
6  | September – November 2018  | Cloud9 |

4–1, 4–1

| Dignitas | Las Vegas | [23]
7  | April – June 2019  | Renault Vitality |

4–1

| G2 Esports | Newark | [24]
8  | October – December 2019  | NRG Esports |

4–3

| Renault Vitality | Madrid | [25]
9  | February – April 2020  |

Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic

X  | August 2020 – June 2021
2021–22  | October 2021 – August 2022  | Team BDS [fr] |

4–1

| G2 Esports | Fort Worth | [26]
2022–23  | October 2022 – August 2023  | Team Vitality |

4–0

| Team BDS  | Düsseldorf | [27]
2024  | January – September 2024  | Team BDS  |

4–2

| G2 Stride  | Fort Worth |
2025 | January – September 2025  | [to be determined] | —  | [to be determined] | Lyon-Décines | [citation needed]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Hussain, Tamoor (February 15, 2016). "Rocket League Dev Explains New Esports Drive". GameSpot. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
2. ^ Makuch, Eddie (March 2, 2016). "Rocket League Pro League Announced, Offers $75,000 in Prizes". GameSpot. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
3. ^ Lemmon, Kyle. "Introducing the Rocket League Championship Series". Rocket League. Archived from the original on October 17, 2016. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
4. ^ Faletti, Ian. "NRG Tactics conquer RLCS Season 2 grand finals". ESPN. Archived from the original on December 7, 2016. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
5. ^ Minotti, Mike (February 7, 2017). "Rocket League Championship Series season 3 will have a $300,000 prize pool". Venture Beat. Archived from the original on February 7, 2017. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
6. ^ "Introducing RLCS Season 6". rocketleagueesports.com. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
7. ^ Nowakowski, Ian (January 29, 2019). "Introducing RLCS Season 7". Rocket League. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
8. ^ Ocal, Arda. "RLCS championship canceled due to coronavirus outbreak". ESPN. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
9. ^ Jones, Alistair. "Rocket League Overhauls Its Entire Esports Structure". Kotaku. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
10. ^ "Announcing the RLCS 2021–22 Season". Rocket League Esports. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
11. ^ "RLCS 2022-23 Season Information and Sign-Ups". Rocket League Esports. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
12. ^ "Community Events Take Over the RLCS Offseason". Rocket League Esports. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
13. ^ "The RLCS Returns for 2024!". Rocket League Esports. Retrieved January 10, 2024.
14. ^ "BLAST to operate the Fortnite Championship Series (FNCS) and the Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS) in expanded multi-year deal". News Powered by Cision. January 4, 2024. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
15. ^ "Rocket League announces new RLCS format for 2025". Esports Insider. September 16, 2024. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
16. ^ "Rocket League World Championship 2025 Preview" Rocket League Esports. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
17. ^ "RLCS heads to North Carolina for the Raleigh Major" Rocket League Esports. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
18. ^ Faletti, Ian. "A chat with Season 1 champions 617 Cosmic". ESPN. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
19. ^ Faletti, Ian. "Eclipse Tactics conquer RLCS Season 2 grand finals". ESPN. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
20. ^ Hayward, Andrew. "Bizarre Gaming on Their RLCS Win and What's Next". Red Bull. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
21. ^ Parker, Max. "Gale Force's RLCS win marks new era in Rocket League supremacy". post-gazette.com. Archived from the original on February 16, 2020. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
22. ^ Mejia, Ozzie. "Team Dignitas Wins Rocket League Season 5 Championship After Wild Final Flurry". Shacknews. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
23. ^ Mejia, Ozzie. "Cloud9 shocks Team Dignitas to win Rocket League Season 6 Championship". Shacknews. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
24. ^ Mejia, Ozzie. "Renault Vitality wins Rocket League Season 7 Championship". Shacknews. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
25. ^ Mejia, Ozzie. "NRG Esports wins Rocket League Season 8 Championship". Shacknews. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
26. ^ Bencomo, Brian. "Team BDS win RLCS 2021-22 World Championship". Nerd Street. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
27. ^ Marsh, Jack. "Team Vitality win RLCS World Championships 22-23". GGRecon. Retrieved August 13, 2023.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

Rocket League Championship Series

Teams|

| North America|

* Complexity
* Gen.G Mobil1 Racing
* NRG Esports
* Shopify Rebellion
* Spacestation Gaming

|

Europe|

* Dignitas
* Karmine Corp
* NIP
* Renault Vitality

South America|

* FURIA Esports
* Team Secret

MENA|

* Team Falcons

Oceania|

* Chiefs Esports Club
* TSM

APAC|

* Virtus.pro
* Yokohama F. Marinos

Former|

* Cloud9
* FaZe Clan
* FlipSid3 Tactics
* G2 Esports
* GamerLegion
* Giants Gaming
* Guild Esports
* LOUD
* Luminosity Gaming
* Moist Esports
* Rogue
* OG
* PWR
* Team Envy/OpTic Gaming
* Team Liquid
* Tokyo Verdy
* XSET

Players|

* Turbopolsa

Seasons|

* 2025

* v
* t
* e

Esports and competitive video gaming

* Games
* Leagues and tournaments
* Players
* Cheating
* Betting

Fighting|

* Capcom Cup
* CEO
* Evolution Championship Series
* Killer Instinct World Cup
* Super Smash Bros.
* Apex
* The Big House
* Genesis
* Smash World Tour
* Super Smash Con

MOBA|

* Dota 2
* Pro Circuit
* The International
* League of Legends
* World Championship
* Mid-Season Invitational
* First Stand
* Champions Korea
* Championship Pacific
* Championship of The Americas
* EMEA Championship
* Pro League
* Pacific Championship Series
* Vietnam Championship Series
* other
* Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
* Mid Season Cup
* World Championship
* Smite World Championship

Real-time strategy|

* StarCraft
* StarCraft II
* Global League
* Warcraft III
* championships

Shooter|

* Apex Legends Global Series
* Call of Duty
* Championship
* League
* Counter-Strike
* BLAST Premier
* ESL Pro League
* Flashpoint
* Majors
* Fortnite World Cup
* Overwatch
* Apex
* Champions Series
* Contenders
* League
* World Cup
* QuakeCon
* Six Invitational
* Valorant Champions Tour
* PUBG Mobile

Sports|

* eFootball.Open
* eSailing
* Inshore Worlds
* Offshore (Virtual Vendee)
* Gran Turismo World Series
* FIFAe World Cup
* FIFAe Nations Cup
* Formula One Esports Series
* Formula E: Accelerate
* iRacing
* eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series
* eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series
* EuroNASCAR Esports Series
* INDYCAR iRacing Challenge
* NBA 2K League
* Rocket League Championship Series
* eRacing
* 2017 Vegas eRace

Other genres|

* Classic Tetris World Championship
* Hearthstone
* Pokémon
* World Championships

Multi-genre|

* Asian Games
* Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games
* Commonwealth Esports Championships
* DreamHack
* ELeague
* ESEA League
* ESL
* Intel Extreme Masters
* Esports World Convention
* Esports World Cup
* Major League Gaming
* list of National Championships
* Nintendo World Championships
* Campus Challenge
* Olympic Esports Series
* Southeast Asian Games
* Twin Galaxies
* World Cyber Games
* World Electronic Sports Games
* World Series of Video Games

Governing bodies|

* Amazon University Esports
* Armenian Esports Federation
* Asian Electronic Sports Federation
* Bangladesh Youth Development and Electronic Sports Association
* British Esports
* Esports Integrity Commission
* Esports World Federation
* Global Esports Federation
* International Esports Federation
* Korea e-Sports Association
* National Association of Collegiate Esports
* Professional Esports Association
* Saudi Esports Federation
* Tespa
* Thailand E-Sports Federation
* Russian eSports Federation
* World Esports Association

Defunct organizations|

* Championship Gaming Series
* Cyberathlete Professional League
* eGames
* G7 Teams
* MBCGame StarCraft League
* Ongamenet Starleague
* Professional Gamers League
* Tougeki – Super Battle Opera
* United Kingdom eSports Association
* World e-Sports Games
* World League eSport Bundesliga
* XLEAGUE.TV

By country|

* Philippines
* United Arab Emirates

Years|

* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

* Category

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template